Australian Cash Update – the Journey Continues

In the July edition of Cash and Payments News Paul Blond, Managing Partner of The Blond Group, wrote about the initial impact of COVID-19 in Australia and how not only cash, but all payment methods took a tumble as the widespread lockdown of the country impacted the economy. With the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) publishing its latest data, Paul has taken a look at the numbers.

Cash up and down!

The dual role of currency both as a store of wealth and means of payment has never been more apparent, as the numbers that report cash on issue and cash use remain dramatically different.

Cash on issue – perhaps a better term than cash in circulation, as clearly large volumes of cash are being held and not circulated – continues to break month on month records, with the numbers hitting almost $99.5 billion at the end of October 2020, up $17 billion (21%) on a year earlier. However, despite the records levels of banknotes on issue, reported ATM cash withdrawals remain substantially lower than this time last year.