Ukraine war, NATO joining lead temporary cash withdrawal spike

The war in Ukraine and Finland’s joining of NATO caused temporary spikes in cash withdrawal volumes but the use of cash has not increased significantly in 2022, according to OP’s statistics.

In the last five years, customers’ cash withdrawals have decreased in euro terms by around 40 per cent, said OP in a press release on Friday.

In 2022, OP customers’ cash withdrawals have increased in euro terms by around five per cent from the previous year.

Based on OP's statistics, the volume of cash withdrawals has remained at the previous year’s level.

Immediately after the war broke out in Ukraine, the demand for cash increased for approximately three weeks, during which around a fourth of customers made cash withdrawals that were around 40–50 per cent larger than usual.

Another spike was recorded in May when Finland submitted its application for NATO membership, after which around a quarter of customers withdrew 40–50 per cent more cash over a period of about one week.

During the crisis in Ukraine, around 75 per cent of OP's customers have kept their use of cash virtually unchanged.

The demand for and use of cash has fallen significantly in recent years. Today, cash withdrawals by OP’s customers have decreased by some 40 per cent compared to the figures recorded five years ago, in 2017.

Correspondingly, the use of payment cards has increased by around 40 per cent during the same period.

“This year, cash withdrawal volumes have increased only slightly, despite the increase in general uncertainty and the post-pandemic return to normal life. During summer months, cash withdrawal volumes have typically been higher, but from June to August this year, cash withdrawals remained even smaller than in the preceding months. It appears that Finnish tourists, too, have switched from cash to other means of payment, such as payment cards,” said Katariina Säntti, Head of Payment Services at OP.

This year, the average Finnish person’s one-time cash withdrawal from an ATM has been 120 euros. The amount has remained unchanged since last year.

“Because of the deposit guarantee system, a bank account is the best place to keep your money safe. We don’t recommend making large cash withdrawals since it’s not safe to keep money at home,” Säntti said.