Consumers turn away from ATMs

The number of cash withdrawals from automatic teller machines fell sharply in February, continuing a trend that has been underway for the past year.

According to figures released by the Reserve Bank of Australia on Friday, there were 60 million withdrawals in February 2013 - down seven per cent from the previous month.

The number of own-ATM withdrawals fell four per cent in February.

Since May last year, when there were 71.1 million withdrawals, the number has fallen 16 per cent.

Consumers are increasingly avoiding the use of ATMs, which involves paying fees, instead getting cash out at the point of sale and using their debit cards more for payments.