The Post Office has revealed it handled ‘record-breaking’ amounts of cash at over £3 billion in August, despite the month traditionally being a quieter one for cash transactions at its branches.

Post Office research found that a record £805 million in personal cash withdrawals took place in August, up 0.5 per cent and eclipsing the previous record set in July when £801 million in cash was withdrawn. Overall, cash withdrawals were up almost 21 per cent on £667 million withdrawn in August 2021.

In September, cash withdrawals totalled £785 million, a dip of 2.5 per cent month-on-month.

On the 19 September Bank Holiday for the Queen’s funeral, £10 million was withdrawn and deposited at the limited number of Post Offices that were open on that day – a 94 per cent (£150 million) drop compared with the equivalent Monday in September 2021 when £160 million was deposited and withdrawn at Post Offices.

“The vast majority of Post Offices quite rightly remained closed on the day of Her Majesty The Queen’s state funeral as the whole country came together to mourn Her Majesty and reflect on her legacy,” said Martin Kearsley, banking director at Post Office. “This did, of course, result in a dip in cash withdrawals and deposits by business customers given many retailers and businesses were also closed.”

He added: “We expect cash transactions to continue to exceed expectations in October and for the rest of the year.”

The news follows reports that bank branch closures are driving cash service demand at the Post Office.

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