Wednesday 27th June 2007
Every hour cash machines in Britain give out £18 million, equating to £3 million every ten minutes, new figures have revealed.
Statistics released by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) also found that banks, in addition to providing cash to Britons, have a wider role in promoting economic stability.
Banks approve more than £4 billion in mortgages every ten minutes, a period in which they also contribute £175,000 in tax and £190,000 towards the UK's balance of payments, according to the organisation.
Angela Knight CBE, chief executive of the BBA, claimed that the report shows that the sector is adeptly bringing billions of pounds each year into the country's economy.
"At the same time our banks still manage to deal with thousands of transactions for people like you and me every few minutes," she added.
This week marked the 40th anniversary of the inception of cash machines in the UK.
The first cash machine in the world was introduced at a Barclays branch in Middlesex. in 1967.
According to UK payments association Apacs, there are now more than 60,400 ATMs across the UK, with consumers embracing the technology by withdrawing £5,702 in cash every second.
In 2006, about £180 billion in cash was taken out from cash machines, of which there are more than 1,000 for every one million Britons.
"It is hard for most of us to imagine what life was like before the arrival of the cash machine 40 years ago," commented Sandra Quinn, director of communications for Apacs.
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Bank accounts
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