Figures just released by the Post Office show that the amount of cash withdrawn from their branches across the country hit a record £62million just before Christmas.

That was on top of £460m of withdrawals from Link network cash machines – the biggest single-day total since the start of the Covid pandemic.

And that is a feature that has been noticed by Roger Tripp who runs Framlingham Post Office and saw his business increase once the town’s only bank, Barclays, closed in August.

The last Friday before Christmas – December 22 – was the busiest day for cash withdrawals across the country.

The Post Office total beats the previous record by more than £10m, when £51.5m was taken out over the counter on Friday, December 23 last year.

Mr Tripp said that in Framlingham he had noticed the amount of banking business he was doing had increased significantly – but it didn’t mean he was carrying more cash.

He said: “It is certainly true that more money is being withdrawn from us. When Barclays closed the number of cash machines in Framlingham halved. The only one is now at the Co-op.

“But we are also taking in more deposits because there isn’t a bank here. That means more is coming in and going out faster – but we aren’t sitting on more at any one time.”

He said many people still like to use cash because they find it easier to budget with that.

Ross Borkett, the Post Office’s head of banking, said: “For some people, being able to withdraw cash for free helped them to finish last-minute shopping for the big day, for others it may have been a last-minute gift.”

Link chief executive John Howells said: “We generally see higher withdrawals ahead of bank holidays and the end of the month, but ATM use is changing.

“Pre-pandemic, people would typically visit ATMs around twice a week and take out around £65. Post-Covid, with more people comfortable using contactless payments, people tend to visit once and take out more, on average £85.”