January 31st, 2024, Christien Pheby

Are Britons actually using cash machines?

ASDA recently announced that manned kiosks at 82 of its petrol stations would be phased out in favour of cashless alternatives. It’s as good a reason as any to explore a recurring theme in financial services: whether or not the death of cash is upon us. 

Data from YouGov Profiles suggests that, overall, 19% of Britons use cash machines once a week or more (whether to check their balance, make a withdrawal, or some other reason, such as a desire to maintain the country’s apparent superiority at queueing). 

A further 28% say they use them once a month, while 35% say they use them less often and 13% say they never use them at all. So overall, nearly half of the public (48%) are using them less frequently than monthly, if they are using them at all. 

Of course, those who do use them regularly will still be affected by branch closures – so it’s worth exploring where they’re located in Great Britain. 

Our data shows that weekly users of cash machines are most likely to be located in London (20% of weekly cash users vs. 14% of the adult population). London is followed by Scotland (11%), the North West (11%), and Yorkshire & The Humber (10%). In every other region, the percentage of regular cash machine users is below 10% - with consumers in Wales (5%) and the North East (5%) least likely to use them. 

Make smarter business decisions with better intelligence. Understand exactly what your audience is thinking by leveraging our panel of 20 million+ members. Speak with us today. 

YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for Great Britain is nationally representative of the online population and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.