Millions of Australians participated in a grassroots movement yesterday (28 April) to put pressure on the federal government and banks to maintain physical currency infrastructure.
The initiative, dubbed Cash Out Day, urged consumers to make ATM or branch withdrawals to protest the diminishing availability of cash, as reported by News.com.au.
Organisers aimed to double the usual daily ATM withdrawal volume across the country from one million to 1.8 million to send a clear message to the financial sector.
Despite the rapid acceleration of digital payments, access to physical money remains a critical issue for a large segment of the population.
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) data shows that physical tender is experiencing a slight resurgence.
About 15% of transactions in 2025 were made with cash, marking a 2% increase from 2023.
The central bank found that roughly half of Australians use cash at least once a week, with higher usage among older demographics and lower-income households.
The RBA has warned that reducing cash availability would cause significant hardship or major inconvenience for approximately one-third of the country.
Financial institutions are beginning to address these concerns through infrastructure investments.
National Australia Bank (NAB) used the event to announce an upgrade to 719 of its existing ATMs, installing new cash processing technology to improve reliability rather than expanding its overall machine count.
“Our job is to make sure access to cash is there when people need it, alongside digital and in-branch banking, and that it works reliably,”
said Paul Carter, Executive Retail Banking at NAB, told the media.
Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Australia, based on image by Drazen Zigic via Magnific
