Cash withdrawals have hit a new high at the Post Office, with £836 million withdrawn last month.

The total withdrawn was up by over £30 million compared to the previous month.

Post Office banking director Martin Kearsley said that higher cash usage is down to people trying to budget during the winter, as energy prices and inflation put pressure on the British public.

The organisation reported a two per cent decline in cash deposits to "2.4 billion, down from £2.45 billion in October.

The Post Office said that the fall was likely a result of newly introduced deposit limits being set by banks in response to concerns by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) about money laundering.

November, which traditionally sees large increases in business cash deposits as companies take advantage of the run-up to Christmas, was the first time since the beginning of 2022 that personal cash deposits had fallen for two successive months.

“Many businesses rely on cash takings in order to survive, as do their customers,” said Kearsley. “Over-zealous limits imposed on the amount they are able to deposit will almost certainly result in more businesses simply no longer being able to accept cash."

He said that these new limits will impact the ability for companies to "trade successfully and impacts the millions of people who rely on cash as their only means to pay for goods and services".

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