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.

A new CashEssentials paper addresses the questions ‘Is cash a public good?’ and ‘Is it a basic right?’ with the aim of clarifying the debate and advancing policy recommendations.

Why would JPMorgan Chase spend billions of dollars expanding its branch network while in the UK every retail bank is closing bank branches? Why would the Bank of Ireland invest heavily in new ATMs and refurbished branches while the UK looks at hubs and pods to serve their customers?

Digital payments can feel inevitable, sweeping all before them. A range of recent news items suggest this isn’t true.

The Future of Cash conference in Istanbul, which took place 6-8 November, saw some big conversations about cash today and its future. The mood was more upbeat than in recent years as transactional demand for cash has largely rebounded from the lows of the pandemic and the access to cash agenda has gathered pace in countries facing the reality of less cash.

The Future of Cash conference was one of those rare opportunities to step back and think. A series of experts presented data, research and conclusions from the real world about cash and its role in the payment hierarchy.

Mastercard’s CFO, speaking recently at a UBS conference, has raised issues with India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) system. Describing it as ‘fantastic at many levels’, he also said it was an ‘incredibly painful experience’ for its ecosystem participants.

Bancomat AB was registered in 1968 in Sweden, and it is the second oldest ATM operator in the world. It was incorporated in 2010 and is owned by Danske bank, Nordea, Handelsbanken, SEB, Swedbank and some savings banks.

Geldmaat spoke at the ATMIA summit following on directly after the Dutch National Bank. It described how it came into being and the challenges it faces.