One of Australia’s biggest banks is ditching cash at all its branches and moving entirely to “digital only” services.
Macquarie Bank customers will no longer be able to access counter services or order new checkbooks from May 20.
The bank’s automated telephone banking service and checkbooks for new cash management accounts have already been discounted.
All cash and check transactions are gone and Macquarie customers’ access to NAB ATMs will end on 1 November.
This announcement is the latest success for those who prefer to pay in cash, to avoid having all their transactions recorded.
In April, thousands of people took part in a “Cash Day Out” protest and rushed to withdraw money from ATMs to protest Australia’s slow but inexorable transition to a digital-only country.
Macquarie Bank to abandon all cash and check transactions throughout 2024 as it goes ‘fully digital’ (stock image)
Macquarie cited a change in customers’ banking habits as the reason for their shift to digital-only banking.
The bank said it was “committed to moving to fully digital payments” as it is a “safe, faster and more convenient” way to transact.
Banks also say that transporting and distributing cash to a growing number of users was expensive, despite the huge profits made by the big banks.
Financial expert Sarah Wells says the move “is the next step (towards) a cashless society.”
“My biggest concern is that when one starts, the rest will follow,” she told Daily Mail Australia at the time.
ANZ, Commonwealth Bank and NAB have already started phasing out checks while Bankwest is preparing to close 45 branches in Western Australia by October.
Ms Wells said it was a decision Macquarie “may want to reconsider”.
“For some businesses, this might force them to change banks,” she said.
Businesses bear the cost of electronic payment machines and must pass on a fraction of each transaction to the bank rather than keeping it all.
Banks that refuse to use cash are effectively forcing their business customers to do the same, because there is nowhere to deposit cash payments.
This particularly hurts hotel businesses which report a drop in tips when people pay by card.
Macquarie said the move to fully digital banking was due to a change in the banking habits of its around 1.7 million customers (stock image)
Those who want cash to remain in the economy were urged to withdraw cash from ATMs across the country on Cash Out Day last month to protest the country’s rush towards transactions completely cashless and show that there is still demand for notes and coins.
The campaign was promoted on the Facebook page of Cash Welcome, a non-profit group that campaigns against a cashless economy.
Customers lined up outside the big four banks – Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac and ANZ – to withdraw money.
Cash Welcome campaign manager Jason Bryce told Daily Mail Australia the event was a “huge success” and said banks needed to listen to Australians who don’t want a cashless society.
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