Post Office predicts close to £1 billion in personal cash withdrawals in December; despite impact of ‘Storm Bert’ in November
Highlights from the Tracker
- Post Office predicts close to £1 billion in personal cash withdrawals will take place at its branches in December – exceeding previous record high of £930 million in December 2023.
- Personal cash withdrawals on Monday 2 December 2024 up 10% on the equivalent Monday in 2023
- Post Offices handled £3.5 billion worth of cash deposits and withdrawals in November compared with £3.7 billion in October as a result of ‘Storm Bert’ impacting large parts of the country in late November.
- Personal cash deposits in November totalled £1.45 billion, down 4.5% month-on-month (£1.52 billion, October 2024) but up 12.3% year-on-year (£1.29 billion, November 2024).
- Business cash deposits in November totalled £1.12 billion, down 7% month-on-month (£1.21 billion, October 2024) but up 1.5% year-on-year (£1.11 billion, November 2024).
The Post Office is predicting that close to £1 billion worth of cash will be withdrawn over the counter at its branches in December.
Last December, Post Offices handled a then record £930 million worth of personal cash withdrawals at its branches.
New figures released today (10 December) reveal the impact ‘Storm Bert’ had on cash transactions at Post Offices in November.
Just over £3.5 billion in cash deposits and withdrawals were handled by branches in November. This compared with £3.7 billion in October and Post Office has attributed this month-on-month fall to ‘Storm Bert’ which impacted Wales, the South West of England, Central England and Scotland at the end of November.
Personal cash deposits totalled £1.45 billion which was down 4.5% month-on-month (£1.52 billion, October 2024) but was up 12.3% year-on-year (£1.29 billion, November 2024).
Business cash deposits in November totalled £1.12 billion which was down 7% month-on-month (£1.21 billion, October 2024) but was up 1.5% year-on-year (£1.11 billion, November 2024).
Personal cash withdrawals totalled £916 million in November which dipped 1.3% month-on-month (£928 million, October 2024) but was up 4.3% year-on-year (£879 million, November 2024).
Ross Borkett, Post Office Banking Director, said:
“Following the large-scale disruption caused by Storm Bert last month, postmasters and their teams are on hand to support small businesses who desperately rely on cash takings in the run-up to Christmas. Our branches provide somewhere convenient and secure where they can deposit their cash.
“Many people rely on cash in order to budget in the run-up to Christmas Day and the trends we’re seeing indicate that personal cash withdrawals will be greater in December than the previous year. People can withdraw the cash they need, to the penny, at our branches with many open long hours and on the weekend.”