New Zealanders continued to use cash less in the six months from January to June this year according to retail banking insights released today by the New Zealand Banking Association.
Of the total 2.2 billion customer transactions in the period, 1.6% were made at ATMs, down from 1.7% in the previous six months. For the same period in 2023, the proportion of ATM transactions was 1.9% of total transactions.
Cash transactions in branches decreased by 11.5% to 1.9 million, down from 2.1 million. Those cash transactions accounted for 2.5% of all branch transactions, down from 2.7%. In 2023 the proportion was 3.4%.
At the same time as cash use declined further, there was an increase in internet banking and mobile app users. Active users increased 2.4% to 6.2 million customers, accounting for just over 74% of the banking industry’s 10.18 million unique customers.
New Zealand Banking Association chief executive Roger Beaumont says: “Cash use has been declining year on year, while the shift to digital payments and online and mobile banking grows.
“That’s not to say cash is on the way out. We know that some people prefer to use it for various reasons, including budgeting, cultural purposes, gifting, and fund-raising, among other things.
“At the same time, it’s useful to put cash use into the context of all the banking transactions New Zealanders make. Cash makes up a very small fraction of that. The decline in cash use is incremental, and there’s a clear trend.”
Other banking insights for the six months to June 2026 included:
- Of the 72,209 new home loans opened, 22.4% were for first home buyers.
- The average value of a home loan for first home buyers was $506,761, a decrease of 3.4% from the previous six months.
- 68% of credit cards were paid off in full without incurring any interest cost.
- The total value of savings accounts decreased by 1.3% to $112.8 billion, with an average balance of $16,879.
- The total value of term deposits increased by 0.4% to $195.7 billion, with an average balance of $111,030.
- 62.2% of loans were on fixed interest rates, 16.3% were on variable rates, and the remaining 21.5% were on a mix of fixed and variable rates.
- 5,562 customers were granted hardship status, down 9.7% from the previous period.
The full set of retail banking insights for January to June 2026 is available here:
ENDS