Woolworths is reducing its cash withdrawal limit from $500 to $200, bringing it in line with limits set by other retailers.
Shoppers can currently withdraw cash in-store without having to make a purchase in advance, but this is also changing.
From the end of October, consumers will have to make a purchase before they can withdraw money.
Announcing the changes, a Woolworth spokesperson said they would come into effect in mid-September
“We will be lowering the limit on the number of cash payments customers can withdraw from our stores per transaction,” a Woolworths spokesperson said.
“This is due to the lack of cash in transactions, with the majority of customers opting for card-only transactions.
“We understand that cash remains an important payment option for some customers.
‘That is why we continue to offer the option to withdraw cash.’
Woolworths reduces cash withdrawal limit from $500 to $200, bringing it in line with limits set by other retailers
There are no minimum purchase requirements for cash withdrawals.
So whether you buy a leg of ham or a pack of gum, you still have the option to withdraw any amount of cash from the store.
The move follows a backlash from customers to rival supermarket giant Coles opening a point of sale where self-checkouts do not accept cash.
The Brisbane store has a row of self-service checkouts that all say ‘card only’.
From the end of October, consumers will have to make a purchase before they can withdraw money.
A video of the cashless machines was posted on social media.
‘There was the help desk. They took cash, otherwise none,” Scott Russell, who shot the video, told Daily Mail Australia.
Those who commented on the Instagram video were unimpressed.
“Everyone only needs to use cash. If they don’t accept cash, don’t buy from them,” one person said.
“Everyone should leave their groceries at the checkout and walk away,” said another.
A third noted that supermarkets are cutting jobs.
‘It’s bad enough that companies like Coles have increased their prices. I know they’ve cut back on their employees’ hours, but now there are more self-service checkouts… Fewer jobs.”
A Coles spokesperson said no stores were yet cashless, even though paying by card has become the preferred transaction.
“There are still options for our customers who want to pay cash in all our stores,” the spokesperson said.
In 2021, Woolworths halted a trial of cashless supermarkets, which were unpopular with many consumers.
The trial, which included fourteen ‘metro’ stores in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, was marketed as a way to make shopping as ‘seamless as possible for busy inner-city shoppers’.
However, it was met with fierce resistance.
“I refuse to shop at any of your card-only places,” one customer wrote on the Woolworths Facebook page.
“Cash is legal tender and I do not support the cash ban and will take my money elsewhere.”
National Seniors Australia lead lawyer Ian Henschke called the lawsuit “a form of age discrimination” because many older customers still prefer cash.
Justin Nolan, general manager of Woolworths Metro, admitted the process was before its time.
“While almost all Metro customers choose to pay with cards, cash remains incredibly important for those who don’t, for a whole host of reasons that we haven’t fully appreciated,” he said.
“Based on our customer feedback, we can see that we have exceeded current community expectations for cash and will be ending the trial.”
Australia is rapidly moving towards a cashless society, forcing people to use bank cards on which all spending is recorded.
The Reserve Bank estimated that just 13 per cent of transactions were in cash at the end of 2022, a halving in just three years since the start of the Covid pandemic.
A major advantage of using cash only is that you are not charged any fees.
When a customer uses tap-and-go, banks charge a fee that varies from 1.1% to 2 percent of the purchase price, while for EFTPOS a maximum fee of .5% is charged.
Australian bank branches are increasingly restricting cash withdrawals, with customers now advised to call ahead if they want a large amount from an ATM.
ANZ and Commonwealth Bank NAB have announced they will no longer allow over-the-counter cash withdrawals at some of their points of sale as more online banking is used than cash.