Cash withdrawal from ATMs increased by 235 percent to Rs 2.85 lakh crore

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Ahmedabad: Days after reports of growing adoption of wallets, UPI and digital technology in India, digital payments are on the rise over cash at the time of purchase, a new study proves that cash is king for the people of India. Between November 2016 and March 2023, there has been a 235 per cent increase in cash withdrawals from ATMs since demonetisation in November 2016. In December 2016, Rs 84,934 crore were withdrawn per month from ATMs, which increased to Rs 2.85 lakh crore in March 2023.

Cash withdrawals in March 2023 are 121 per cent higher than April 2020 and 41 per cent higher than May 2021, according to the India Cash Vibrancy Report by CMS Info Systems, a company that provides cash exchange services at ATMs. The report further states that after demonetisation, the currency of the country’s economy has more than doubled in cash. In October 2016, the currency of cash was Rs. 17.78 lakh crore which decreased to 9.43 lakh crore in December which increased to Rs 33.8 lakh crore in March 2023.

While the Reserve Bank of India has resumed the process of withdrawing Rs 2,000 notes from circulation on May 23, it is expected that there will be no impact on the economy as the amount of these currency notes in the system is low, reports the country. The amount of cash in India shows that cash is a major source of financial transactions for Indians.

Cash plays an increasing role in the Indian economy. It is necessary to bring every section of the society under the ambit of economic facilities. The amount of cash refills at ATMs is increasing by an average of 10.1 per cent.

However it is our company’s experience that there has been a 1.3 times increase in the amount of cash collection at collection points of e-commerce companies in the financial year 2022-23.

There are different companies providing services like cashing in ATMs of continuously working banks, in which CMS Info has a 46 per cent stake. According to the report released by the company on the cash situation in the country, Karnataka ranks first in terms of average cash withdrawal at an ATM during the year. The average cost of ATMs in Karnataka under CMS Info is Rs 1.73 crore in 2022-23 as against Rs 1.46 crore in 2021-22. After this comes the number of Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.

Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh together have the largest share in the total economy or GDP of the country. Five states also have the maximum cash. As per the CMS report, these five states accounted for 43.1 per cent cash refunds in 2022-23. An average of Rs 1.40 crore was withdrawn from each ATM in the state of Gujarat.

Cash is directly related to the economy

According to the CMAC Info report, there is a direct correlation between a country’s economic condition — such as the rate of inflation or activity in the economy — and cash. In the last six months of the year 2022, when inflation was at its peak, the amount of payment notes also increased due to heavy withdrawals from ATMs. Similarly, the graph of Purchase Manager Index and Cash in Currency Index of Savas Sector also shows that when the Purchase Manager Index increases, the amount of cash also increases.