Growth in the volume of cash withdrawals in Ukraine in the first half of 2024: what is behind this?

During the first half of 2024, Ukrainians significantly increased the amount of cash withdrawals from bank accounts. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, the total volume of issued cash increased by 12.6% compared to the same period last year, reaching a significant 1,342.9 billion hryvnias. This indicates an increased demand for cash among the population.

The National Bank explains this growth by several key factors. On the one hand, the recovery of economic activity, accompanied by the growth of wages and social benefits, stability on the foreign exchange market and controlled inflation, stimulates the population to actively use cash. On the other hand, frequent power outages force people to keep a certain amount of cash, which remains a reliable means of payment in the event of unforeseen situations.

It is especially worth noting that 85.1% of all cash withdrawn in the first half of 2024 was used for transactions with payment cards. This shows the popularity of such transactions, despite the partial return to cash payments. Other significant uses of cash include the reinforcement of postal operators (4.0% of the total) and the purchase of foreign currency (3.2%).

It is also worth noting that the amount of cash inflows to bank cash registers in the first half of 2024 increased by 9.5% compared to the same period last year, reaching 1,307.6 billion hryvnias. The main sources of this increase include trade revenue (31.8%), payment card transactions (23.6%), foreign currency sales (17.6%) and service revenue (13.0%).

The total volume of bank cash transactions in the first half of 2024, both in terms of expenses and receipts, exceeded the indicators of the same period in 2021 by almost 14%. This indicates the gradual recovery of economic activity in Ukraine, which is also reflected in the increased demand for cash.

The National Bank of Ukraine emphasizes that these trends are an important indicator of stabilization and growth of the country's economy after difficult previous years.