The 20 areas where the most money is being withdrawn – and the areas leaving it the fastest as machines disappear

Data shows that every constituency in Britain has seen a decline in ATM withdrawals since 2019.

But some locations remain more dependent on cash withdrawals than others, as we show below.

In the first six months of 2026, people in Britain made 500 million fewer visits to ATMs than in the first six months of 2019, according to ATM operator Link.

Although the number of times people use ATMs is decreasing, people generally withdrew more money with each visit this year.

The average amount withdrawn in London and South East England this year was £100, while in the northern parts of England it was £93, and in Scotland it was £91.

Between January 2026 and June 2026, the locations with the highest withdrawals per visit were all in London, with the average withdrawal in central London exceeding £140.

Lewisham in London was the only area in Britain where the average withdrawal was less than £80, at £79.32, Link said.

How much money do people withdraw from ATMs?

Between January 2026 and June 2026, people in Britain withdrew £36 billion from ATMs.

The amount is significant, but £21 billion less than the same period in 2019, which equates to £119 million less per day.

Nick Quin, head of financial inclusion at Link, said: “Today’s data should come as no surprise. We use less cash as a nation.

‘In fact, it was only in 2018 that card payments replaced cash for the first time.

‘Since the Covid pandemic, the shift to digital, whether through online shopping or contactless cards and increasingly digital wallets on smartphones, means that cash is no longer the preferred means of payment.’

Where are people still dependent on cash?

In West Tyrone, Northern Ireland, the volume of cash withdrawals has fallen the least of anywhere in Britain, when comparing the first six months of 2019 with the same period this year.

In West Tyrone, there was only a 37 per cent drop in the volume of cash withdrawals from high street ATMs in the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period in 2019, Link said. The decrease in value of the recordings was only five percent.

Northern Ireland may become more reliant on cash as visitors cross the border from the Republic of Ireland, which uses the euro.

In England, Weald of Kent saw the slowest shift in ATM use in the period, with a 35 percent drop in volume and a 13 percent drop in the value of transactions, Link said.

Mid Ulster in Northern Ireland was the fourth location to see the slowest shift in cash withdrawals over the period, followed by Birmingham Yardley in the West Midlands.

East Antrim in Northern Ireland and Leicester East also saw a slower move away from cash withdrawals.

Where are people most likely to move away from cash?

City centers and wealthy suburbs, where digital adoption is typically higher, saw the fastest decline in ATM use over the period, Link said.

In Hayes and Harlington, London, there was a 73 percent drop in ATM use compared to the first six months of 2026 with the same period in 2019. The value of withdrawals in the area fell by 65 percent.

This constituency also includes Heathrow Airport, where withdrawals could have been affected by the growth of digital banks offering free cash abroad.

People in Bristol Central have also quickly moved away from using ATMs, with a 77 percent drop in ATM use and a 61 percent drop in the value of withdrawals when the time frames are compared.

ATM use in Holborn and St Pancras, London, also fell sharply, as did Cambridge.

The Cities of London and the Westminster district spent £2 million less on cash per day, while The Weald of Kent saw the smallest decline, at just £17,000 per day.

Quin said: ‘The biggest falls are in major city centers such as London, Bristol, Manchester and Edinburgh. We could also see large declines in locations where major international airports are located.

‘It is interesting that the rate is different, often in the same city. In Glasgow, for example, parts of the city have seen admissions fall by almost 75 per cent, while if you travel a few miles east the number has fallen by half.

‘People are visiting ATMs less, but if we look a little more closely at the figures, in parts of the country that are more deprived, overall values ​​– how much we withdraw – have fallen by less than a third. We actually use ATMs less often, but a lot of cash is still withdrawn.

‘That’s important to remember. Digital may have become easy for many and the standard for some. However, for people who are less fortunate, living on a budget or who cannot do it digitally, there is no alternative to cash.’

Number of ATMs decreased

The number of ATMs has also decreased, because consumer behavior has also changed. The cuts are being seen in every constituency in the country, at a much slower pace than cash withdrawals.

The slowest pace of change in ATMs was in Makerfield, Greater Manchester, which had four percent fewer machines this year than in 2019, Link said.

At the other end of the spectrum, Windsor lost more than half of its ATMs and saw a 60 percent decline in ATM visits over that period.

There were 62,000 ATMs at the end of June 2019 compared to 43,000 at the end of June 2026, a decrease of 31 percent.

Earlier this year, a survey was launched to help protect access to face-to-face banking across Britain.

Commissioned by Lucy Rigby, Secretary of State for Economic Affairs at the Department of Finance, the study gathered evidence on the impact of branch closures, identified who is most affected and looked at where further action may be needed to protect access to banking services.

The Access to Banking Review will be chaired by Richard Lloyd, who will submit a report and recommendations to the government by October.