Commonwealth Bank promises cash is 'here to stay' in major update to customers

One of Australia's biggest banks has promised cash is here to stay amid outrage over the flurry of big businesses going cashless.

Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn sent a mass email today to assure customers CBA would keep injecting billions of dollars of cash into the economy every month.

Comyn said he knew "cash is critical" and vowed CBA was not phasing it out in a major update to banking customers.

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"While your banking preferences may continue to change, we know that cash is critical to our customers, the community and to CommBank – and it's here to stay," Comyn said.

"We'll continue to distribute more than $4 billion in cash each month through Australia's largest branch and ATM network, which will also benefit from $100 million in upgrades in 2025."

CBA's announcement follows its controversial plan to charge customers who withdraw money from tellers at bank branches.

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The bank said customers wanting to take cash out at a bank branch, post office or over the phone would be charged $3 each time unless they are aged under 18.

Following widespread anger, CBA said it would hold off on plans to charge the $3 fee.

Major banks have contributed to the push towards a cashless society, with 926 ATMs and 230 local branches shut down in the past financial year.

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In May 2024, Macquarie Bank became the first major Australian bank to transition to cashless, digital-only payments, phasing out cash deposits at branches but still allowing customers to withdraw cash from ATMs without fees.

Australian businesses too have continued to go cashless.

Cafe chain Gloria Jeans announced it was joining the likes of McDonald's and KFC in making some of its stores cash-free last year.

When it was starting to appear inevitable that physical money would disappear for good, the Albanese government stepped in with a big announcement about a cash mandate.

Comyn today also reiterated CBA's promise to keep regional Commonwealth Bank branches open until at least 2027 to support rural and isolated communities.

Elsewhere in the email, Comyn said CBA was fighting against the rising tide of scammers targeting customers, with 18,000 alerts sent every single day about "suspicious" account activity.

"In the past six months, we've invested more than $450 million to combat scams and fraud, cyber and financial crime, and our continued investment has reduced customer losses to scams by more than 70 per cent over the past two years," he said.

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