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Westpac scraps cardless cash ATM withdrawals for millions: ‘Time to close it’

Westpac, St George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA will be removing cardless ATM withdrawals from 8pm on Friday.

Tamika Seeto
·Finance Reporter
·2-min read
Westpac ATM
Westpac will no longer offer customers cardless ATM cash withdrawals, sparking outrage amongst some customers. (Source: AAP)

Westpac will be removing cardless ATM withdrawals for customers this week. The change means Aussie customers will need to use their physical bank card to withdraw cash, sparking backlash among some of the major bank’s customers.

From 8pm on Friday, Westpac and subsidiaries St.George Bank, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA will no longer offer the cardless cash ATM withdrawal feature. A Westpac spokesperson said the bank had seen a drop in customers using the service.

“We’re introducing changes to Cardless Cash withdrawals in response to the shift in customer behaviour towards digital payments,” a Westpac spokesperson told Yahoo Finance.

“Over a 12-month period, we’ve seen a 21 per cent increase in mobile wallet transactions as more customers choose the speed, security and convenience of digital banking. At the same time, there has been a decline in Cardless Cash withdrawals.”

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Westpac said customers would still be able to make cash withdrawals through the 7,000 ATMs across its network, and access cash transactions at more than 500 branches nationwide.

“Customers can also complete cash transactions through Bank@Post at more than 3,400 Australia Post outlets,” the spokesperson told Yahoo Finance.

“Cardless Cash deposits will continue to be available for customers.”

The ATM change has frustrated some customers, with many saying they no longer carried their physical card with them.

“Like a lot of people I don’t carry a physical card with me anymore, so cardless cash is really my only option if I need cash unexpectedly. Seems like a backward step,” one customer lamented.

“Devastated by this as well. It seems incredibly sudden and unexpected. I can't imagine it was any huge burden to maintain,” another wrote.

“Wait, so [I] need to use a physical card now? I haven’t even had a wallet for five years,” a third added.

Some customers said they would go as far to say they would change banks over the move.

“Was one of the main reasons I kept an account open at St George with $50 in it. Guess it's time to close it,” one wrote.

Commonwealth Bank offers cardless ATM withdrawals for customers through the CommBank app, with a withdrawal limit of up to $500 each day.

ANZ customers can withdraw cash at an ATM using their digital wallets and by entering their PIN.

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