Record £801m withdrawn at Post Office counters over Christmas period

A record £801 million in personal cash withdrawals took place at Post Office branches in December 2021.

The total amount people withdrew from the 11,500 branches across the UK was up by 7.8% compared with November, when the figure stood at £743 million.

The total was also up by a quarter (25%) compared with December 2020, when £640 million was withdrawn.

The Post Office said the record total coincided with start of a charity partnership with food bank charity the Trussell Trust, whereby 1p from every cash withdrawal is donated to the good cause. The initiative hopes to raise £250,000 by the end of February.

In total, Post Offices handled a record £3.1 billion in cash deposits and withdrawals in December, marking an increase on the previous record of £3 billion in November.

In December 2020, Post Offices handled £2.4 billion.

The record total for December 2021 came despite business cash deposits dipping by 1.8% month on month, with Covid-related restrictions varying across the UK.

Personal cash deposits increased by 0.2% month on month, to reach £1.26 billion in December 2021.

The Post Office has an agreement with many banks which allows banks’ customers to do their everyday banking over the Post Office’s counters.

Martin Kearsley, banking director at Post Office, said: “Despite Covid-19 restrictions being introduced and some people’s natural desire to avoid going out to see friends and family before Christmas, it’s testament to the hard work of postmasters that a record £3.1 billion was processed at branches.”