Heather Moore advises the impact of Australian ATMs set for “Cash Out Day”
Some Aussies are responding to a cashless society. What does this mean for everyone else?
Heather Moore, Accounting Director at Knight Group, sat down with Channel 9 News to discuss the impact of April 2nd’s “Cash Out Day.” In response to big banks’ push towards a cashless society, many Aussies called for a community-organised protest to draw out as much cash as possible from bank ATMs. Why? To make a statement, loud and clear – cash is king and here to stay. But what did this mean for the average Australian?
The risk with a protest such as this is the repercussions associated with an influx of demand on April 2nd. Finance experts expressed concern that such a high demand for cash on a single day would dry up the cash supply for major ATMs and leave Australians who regularly rely upon cash behind without a stash.
So what was the end result? Major news outlets reported that, while it was unclear exactly how much cash was drawn out as part of the protest, there was unprecedented demand on 2nd April. Banks were left with unruly queues out the door, and the “pro-cash community” estimated that more than half a million dollars extra was cumulatively drawn, in addition to the average $1 million dollars daily average for Aussie ATM withdrawals.
Heather recounts many clients that gravitate towards using cash as a means for managing personal spending and avoiding digital payment fees, but with the RBA reporting that only 20% of Australians use physical money – the future of Aussie’s cash usage is a hot debate.
Do you think Australia will ever become a cashless society?
