An article by Tristan Dissaux - ‘The Social Role of Money in an Age of Digitalisation' - pulls together much of the debate and thinking around the payment tension created by digitisation. As we end 2022, it is a good time to reflect on this.

CashTech gathers companies which leverage software and communications technology to provide improved cash services as well as to enhance the efficiency of the cash cycle.

Last year, the International Banknote Designers Association (IBDA) held a virtual conference. One speaker, Dr Franklin Noll, presented his thoughts on how we’ll be paying in ten years time.

A recent webinar organised by Enryo, an independent consultancy, invited four experts to consider digital inclusion. Speakers addressed how to overcome the very real problem of proving identity and what needs to be done to accelerate digital inclusion.

A CoinDesk columnist, J P Koning, has bravely made five predictions about the future of money.

Philip Lowe, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), spoke recently at a conference about the future of payments in Australia. He said that the direction of change was ‘pretty clear’.

With the UK recently hosting the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), companies in the UK cash cycle are thinking about what they can do to play their part.

David Sax, a journalist, has written a book ‘Revenge of the Analog: Real things and why they matter’. He makes an interesting case for analogue products such as banknotes. The digital world has been with us for over 20 years, and it has brought significant benefits, usually related to convenience, choice and cost.

The Dutch National Bank (DNB) spoke at the recent ICCOS seminar about the McKinsey study commissioned to consider the cash infrastructure the Netherlands will need for the next 10 years. With cash transactions having recovered to 20% of transactions, down from 32% pre-pandemic, the Netherlands is preparing for a less cash society.

The future of cash is, without doubt, the most discussed, presented and written about topic in the cash and retail payments industry during the last 10 years. The topic took on a new dimension with the arrival of COVID-19, the effects of which feature in a discussion paper, titled simply ‘The Future of Cash’.