Despite UPI, more people were still requesting cash—Rs 1.43 lakh crore were taken out of ATMs monthly
Cash Withdrawal: The report says that during the last financial year, cash withdrawal from ATMs in metros has increased by 37.49 percent. During this period, people in towns and villages withdrew 12.50 percent more cash from ATMs compared to a year ago.
The nation's need for cash has grown rather than decreased despite the steady rise in digital payments. In its annual report, which was made public on Monday, CMS Infosystems, the company in charge of managing cash in ATMs, stated that during the fiscal year 2023–24, customers withdrew an average of Rs 1.43 lakh crore each month from ATMs. This amount is 5.92 percent higher than the Rs 1.35 lakh crore monthly average withdrawal for 2022–2023. According to these most recent statistics, more people are still making purchases with cash.
The report comes at a time when there is a growing perception across the country that the use of cash is decreasing due to an increase in transactions through digital payment platforms like UPI. The report said that during the last financial year, cash withdrawals from ATMs in metros increased by 37.49 percent. During this period, people in towns and villages withdrew 12.50 percent more cash from ATMs compared to a year ago.
Karnataka ranks first in the country in terms of cash withdrawal from an ATM. People of the state have withdrawn an average of Rs 1.83 crore from an ATM in 2023-24. Delhi is at second place with Rs 1.82 crore and West Bengal is at third place with Rs 1.62 crore.
The company, which manages almost half of the country's ATMs, said in the report that people in metros withdrew an average of 10.37 percent more cash during 2023-24 than a year earlier. In this, an increase of 3.94 percent was recorded in towns and rural areas and 3.37 percent in cities. This includes cash withdrawals from ATMs and other methods.
49 percent of ATMs of public sector banks are located in metros and urban areas. In the case of private banks, this ratio is 64 percent. The remaining ATMs of both categories are located in towns and rural areas.
According to the report, the average expenditure in the media and entertainment sector has increased by 29.30 percent during 2023-24. An increase of 16.76 percent was recorded in the expenditure in the FMCG sector, which had seen a decline of 21.94 percent during 2022-23.
