The Post Office in the UK is playing an increasing important role in providing cash services to communities. It now provides cash services for over 30 banks and building societies as part of a Banking Framework. Customers can withdraw or deposit cash at any of the 11,500 Post Office branches.

There have been a number of articles this year about financial products targeting children with the aim of teaching them to save, spend and think about money ready for when they are adults.

As an initial member of the European Retail Payment Board (ERPB) working group, the European Security and Transport Association (ESTA), supported by other organisations, sought to foster debate on a number of issues relevant to ‘obstacles to cash acceptance’, a topic being investigated by the ERPB and about which it had issued a questionnaire.

The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) of Atlanta has published an article by Oz Shy, ‘Digital Currency, Digital Payments, and the ‘last mile’ to the unbanked.’ As the number of cashless locations increases, the article considers what stops people going digital and looks at policy options in response.

The European Retail Payment Board (ERPB) issued a questionnaire about acceptance and access to cash in April 2021. In mid-April the European Secure Transportation Association (ESTA) withdrew from the ERPB working group on the basis that the ERPB’s investigation about cash usage was too narrow.

In September 2020 Reconnaissance Consulting Group was asked to consider what would happen to cash at a future moment where the world economy and society had re-opened living with COVID.

In 2019 National Westminster Bank (NatWest) commissioned independent academic research to look into the drivers of consumer payment behaviour, including consumer attitudes and intentions towards cash. The research was carried out by Professor Darren Duxbury, Dr Thanos Verousis and by David Marsh. This is a short summary of their work with the full research being published in due course.

In 2020 the number of ATMs fell slightly according to RBR who are about to publish their ‘Global ATM Market and Forecasts to 2026’ report. In fact, 2020 was a mixed year where the long-term growth in ATM installations slowed rather than stopped.

The ECB has published a comprehensive report of what has happened to cash in the euro area during the pandemic.

Outman Consulting has published a review of cash usage in Southern Europe, focusing on Italy and Spain. It surveyed 2,000 consumers in Italy and Spain in January 2021 to understand the impact on payments of the pandemic. It found that, for purchases under €10, the preference for using cash had declined from 78% to about 48%. Why and will the change stick?