What’s changing about the way we access our money?

When did you last use an ATM? 

Perhaps you took out cash for the week, a night out, a market, the grandkids or simply because you wanted some money in your wallet. 

Whatever the reason, Australians continue to access a significant amount of cash. 

In May alone, 28.1 million ATM withdrawals were made across Australia, worth $9.4 billion, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia. 

But while taking cash out might feel like one of the more familiar things we do with our money, the way we access it is changing. 

And there are a few things worth knowing. 

You may not need to find your bank’s ATM 

For years, many of us learned to look for our own bank’s ATM. 

That’s no longer necessarily the case. 

Banks increasingly partner with ATM networks to give their customers access beyond the machines carrying their own bank’s name. 

atmx, for example, partners with over 26 financial institutions whose customers can withdraw cash and check their balance across the atmx network without paying an ATM operator fee. 

So next time you're looking for cash, it can be worth knowing which ATM networks your bank partners with. 

Your fee-free ATM network may be considerably larger than you realise.

An ATM can do more than dispense cash 

An ATM isn’t necessarily just somewhere to withdraw money. 

At deposit-enabled atmx machines, customers of participating financial institutions can also deposit cash directly into their accounts. 

Depending on the machine and your financial institution, other services can include balance enquiries, transferring money between linked accounts, changing your PIN, and receiving a digital receipt by SMS. 

That's useful to know, particularly as more of the everyday tasks we once associated with visiting a bank branch are available in other ways. 

Services vary between financial institutions and machines, so it’s worth checking what’s available for your bank before you go. 

How Australians are actually using cash 

The Reserve Bank's latest research gives us an interesting picture. 

Its 2025 Consumer Payments Survey found around half of Australians used cash in a typical week. 

But that doesn't mean the other half never uses it. 

When the Reserve Bank asked people whether they ever used cash for everyday payments, including outside the seven-day survey period, only 13% said they never did. 

More than three-quarters of Australians surveyed also carried some cash in their wallets. 

Cash use has also stabilised. Around 15% of payments were made in cash in 2025, up slightly from around 13% in 2022. 

For smaller purchases, it was more common. Around one in four payments under $10 was made in cash. 

The picture is less about one way of paying replacing another and more about Australians using their money in different ways for different situations. 

Three things worth knowing 

So next time you need cash, there are a few simple things worth checking. 

First, find out which ATM networks your bank partners with. You may have access to more fee-free ATMs than you realise. 

Second, don’t assume an ATM can only give you cash. Depending on your bank and the machine, you may also be able to deposit cash, check your balance, transfer between linked accounts or use other banking services. 

And third, check whether a fee applies before proceeding with a withdrawal. At atmx, customers of participating financial institutions can make withdrawals and balance enquiries without an ATM operator fee. 

They’re small things, but they can make accessing and managing your money easier. 

The way Australians bank continues to change, but accessing cash remains part of everyday financial life for millions of us. 

And knowing what’s available can make getting to your money simpler.