LONDON — Britons withdrew a record £144.1 billion (U.S. $263.5 billion) from the UK's ATMs in 2003.
Equivalent to £4,570 (U.S. $8,359) and 75 withdrawals a second, a total of 2.37 billion ATM transactions were made during the year, according to figures provided by the Association of Payment Clearing Services (APACS).
APACS said 97 percent of the transactions were free, made at ATMs owned by bank and building societies rather than independent providers. Sixty-nine percent of the UK's ATMs did not assess a fee in 2003, according to APACS.
People withdrew an average £61 (U.S. $111) per transaction from bank and building society ATMs and £46 (U.S. $84) from other machines.
Britons now use ATMs to access 53 percent of their money, with the difference made up by cashing checks, getting cash over the counter at banks and building societies, cash-back at supermarkets and cash advances on credit cards.
During 2003, an additional 5,636 ATMs were installed in the UK, bringing the total number to 46,461.
"As we become an increasingly mobile society, more and more UK customers rely on cash machines as part of their daily life," said Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS. "This increasing demand for more cash machines is met head on as the number of locations continues to increase year on year."
