Macquarie Bank to Ban Cash and Cheque Services From 2024

A general view of a Macquarie Group building in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 28, 2016. AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts

Australia’s fifth-largest bank will phase out cash and cheque deposits and withdrawals from 2024 as it plans to transform into a solely digital banking platform.

Macquarie Bank, which has a market capitalisation of over $65 billion (US$41.7 billion) as of Sept. 22, and is a major player institutional banker apart from the big four banks, made the surprise move in September.

“Between January and November 2024, we’ll be phasing out our cash and cheque services across all our banking and wealth management products, including super and pension accounts,” the bank said in a notification.

“We’ll also be switching off our automated telephone banking service used to make payments over the phone.”

While Macquarie Bank currently partners with the National Australia Bank (NAB) to allow its customers to make cash withdrawals and deposits at NAB branches, the service will also cease by November 2024.

New money at the Royal Australian Mint in Canberra, Australia on April 22, 2005 Mark Nolan/Getty Images

According to the plan, Macquarie Bank will stop issuing new chequebooks to customers from January 2024.

The bank will then phase out its telephone banking system in March and its cheque system by May 2024.

In addition, customers will be unable to deposit or withdraw cash or cheques over the counter at any Macquarie branch from May 2024 onward.

“As a digital bank, we’re committed to transitioning to completely digital payments by November 2024 as a safer, faster and convenient way to bank,” a Macquarie spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

“The majority of our customers already bank digitally and we’re working very closely to support the less than one percent of our customers who currently use cheques or cash to ensure they have access to other digital payment methods.”

Concerns About Negative Impacts of Macquarie’s Decision

While Macquarie Bank said the decision to phase out cash and cheque services was necessary, some experts have raised concerns about its impacts on customers.

Nick Bruining, a financial advisor, said he had received calls from Macquarie customers complaining about the bank’s announcement.

The advisor also said that while many people were into online banking, a large group of people, including the elderly, were quite wary of doing transactions online.

A shopper holds asparagus spears at Paddy's Market in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 22, 2022. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

“I also sort of question the bank saying, ‘Oh, you know, the take-up rate has been really good by seniors?’” he told the ABC.

“The reality is that there’s a lot of people that rely on family members, kids, and other people to do their banking for them.”

In addition, Mr. Bruining said there were no details on how the bank would help its customers deal with super contributions and pension-related payments that were only processed via cheque.

While the bank still allows its customers to withdraw and deposit cash via ATMs, Mr. Bruining pointed out that a lot of people had security concerns about this approach.

“There’s a lot of people that feel very uncomfortable taking chunks of cash out of an ATM on the side of a wall or taking their deposits in. And you’ve got businesses out there that still deal in cash. What are they going to do?” he questioned.

Transition to Digital Banking Accelerates

Macquarie Bank’s announcement comes as several major banks implement plans to phase out cash and cheque transactions.

In March, ANZ, one of Australia’s big four banks, announced that it would end cash withdrawal in some branches, citing a sharp decline in over-the-counter transactions.

The bank did not specify which or how many branches were affected by the decision.

It was later reported that National Australia Bank would implement a similar policy.

Meanwhile, in June, the Australian government introduced plans to abolish cheques by 2030 to “modernise” the country’s payment system.

The government also said it would stop using cheques and move to new forms of payment by the end of 2028.

A survey by the Reserve Bank of Australia in late 2022 found only 13 percent of transactions were made using cash.

Around three-quarters of payments were made using cards, with half using debit cards and a quarter with credit.

The rest of all transactions were made up of mobile payments and direct online transfers.