Cashless society: RBA promises to keep cash as payment option 'for as long as Australians want or need to use it'

Reserve Bank Governor Michele Bullock has promised to keep cash as a viable payment option despite only 5.5 per cent of the population relying on notes, but a declining number of bank branches has left some worried.

Cash payments have declined over recent decades as more people prefer to use digital methods to pay for goods and services, with the latest Australian Banking Association report showing the annual number of ATM withdrawals plummeted from over 50 million in 2012 to roughly 15 million in 2024.

But roughly 1.5 million Australians still depend on cash, and a record high level of about $105 billion of cash remains in circulation, according to the central bank.

Bullock has vowed to ensure "cash remains a viable means of payment for as long as Australians want or need to use it", d