August is one of those months where much of the world slows down, particularly in the northern hemisphere, creating an opportunity for a more reflective piece. As a result, this edition spends some time looking to the future.

2024 has kicked off with a focus on cash, particularly a series of initiatives to safeguard access to cash.

In 2023 we continued to cover cash, payments and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). This article provides a swift summary of the year that was.

The latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a blog which highlights its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Virtual Handbook. It draws attention to the explosion of interest in CBDCs and the need to design them appropriately.

There is a belief that banking can become purely digital. During the pandemic cash usage fell and we couldn’t visit bank branches. Banks were quick to close ATMs and branches, justifying this as customer choice.

Brett Scott’s new book has just been published. It reads easily, flowing along at a great pace. The book lays out with wonderful clarity what money is, how every type of ‘money’ has become what it is from cash to CBDCs, with every variant in between, and how the financial system works and interconnects.

In countries where less cash is already underway, there is an underlying assumption that it is only a matter of time before cash will reach a tipping point that makes digital payments a requirement. The unstated assumption is that cash will end, and that digital is the future. There is an urgency, therefore, to make digital payments work.

For the first time in two centuries, since the establishment of central banks began, the definition of money is being reviewed. In that context Paul Wilson’s book – ‘Shades of Sovereignty: Money and the Making of the State’ – is a useful read.

12 editions of Cash & Payment News™, 12 weeks of Digital Currency News™. What have we learnt? What has changed?

The Economist’s 1843 magazine recently published an article, ‘The Mystery of the Missing £50 Billion’. It tells the story of a young lady caught at Heathrow with five suitcases containing nearly £2 million in banknotes.