The 23rd of December was an all-time record day for Link cash machine withdrawals in the UK as Brits scrambled to take out £730 million in the lead up to Christmas.
People may be warming to contactless payments but cash is still proving popular, the Link data shows. Nearly £100 million more was withdrawn on the 23rd than on 2015's record day of 24th December.
Overall, people withdrew over £12 billion from more than 70,000 Link ATMs in December 2016, an increase of 3.5% on December 2015.
John Howells, CEO, Link, says: "With this record for ATM withdrawals, it is clear that cash plays a vital part in so many people’s lives, and we fully expect it to do so for many years to come."
Link has been in the news this week in relation to Mastercard's proposed takeover of VocaLink. Vocalink currently supplies the software for the Link ATMs but the Competition and Markets Authority is concerned that there will be a reduced number of bidders to choose from when its service provision is next put out to tender.
The CMA deems that VocaLink and MasterCard are two of just three credible providers - the third being Visa.