At the recent Cash Sustainability Forum, held in Frankfurt last month, Ian Woolford, Head of Money and Cash at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, gave a presentation on the country’s impending community cash services trial.

A recent McKinsey survey in Latin America found that the number of people who said cash was their preferred payment method had halved between 2021 and 2023.

There have been a series of press reports about cash over the last few weeks. Put them together and a story emerges of what a society going cashless looks like.

The International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) is 20 years old this year. At the Banknote Conference in Fort Worth, Texas last month it held a session on ‘Cash Visibility and Collaboration’, which was a full house with nearly 120 people attending. Even with 77 member organisations drawn from central banks and suppliers, this turnout was exceptional.

The Bank of Canada carries out regular Methods of Payment surveys to measure payment method adoption, use at the point of sale and perceptions about payment methods. This helps the Bank with its management of banknotes and understanding of digital currencies and may help with its work on a possible CBDC.

Sweden’s Riksbank, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), the Central Bank of Uruguay and the Federal Reserve all provided information on cash use in their economies at the recent Banknote Conference in Fort Worth, TX.

A few days after celebrating its 90th anniversary, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shakti Kant Das has announced several new payment initiatives.

The Bank of Canada (BOC) carries out regular Methods of Payment (MOP) surveys to measure payment method adoption, use at the point of sale (POS) and perceptions about payment methods. This helps the BOC with its management of banknotes and understanding of digital currencies and may help with its work on a possible Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

The end of the ‘cash era’, announced by The Economist 15 years ago, has not arrived. On the contrary, in a contactless but crisis-ridden world, cash is leaving wallets and taking refuge in mattresses. This article from Marc Schwartz, Chairman and CEO of Monnaie de Paris, was first published by Cash Essentials.

Innovation in contactless payment technology, the COVID-19 pandemic, increased e-commerce, and enhanced transparency, security, and convenience have transformed the retail payment markets in the last few years.