In Denmark cash may only be used in 12% of transactions, but one in four person-to-person transactions are made in cash and one in three Danes hold cash at home as a reserve. How much people hold has also increased.

In 2020 consumers made 15.5 billion debit card payments in the UK. Mastercard has just said that over half of the world’s in person payments are now made using contactless technology.

In 2020 Apple bought Mobeewave, a start-up working to enable contactless payments using smart phones. Bloomberg has reported that Apple will allow small businesses to use iPhones to accept payments ‘in the coming months’.

A new agreement has been signed between the UK’s Post Office and 30 banks and building societies to allow customers to continue to access basic banking services in post offices.

In 2020 Apple bought Mobeewave, a start-up working to enable contactless payments using smart phones. Bloomberg has reported that Apple will allow small businesses to use iPhones to accept payments ‘in the coming months’.

Fear of COVID-19 transmission by banknotes remains in Taiwan despite the worldwide research that demonstrates the risks are extremely small, no more than touching any other object in a public space.

Amazon has decided to continue to accept Visa credit cards in the UK, reversing its decision to stop on 19 January. The reason for the change of heart is not clear but it is assumed that Amazon will have negotiated price concessions from Visa.

Amazon has announced that from 19 January 2022 in the UK it will stop accepting Visa credit card payments due to their high cost. This follows the post-Brexit removal of the interchange cap imposed by the European Commission. Amazon has also introduced surcharges on Visa credit cards in Singapore and Australia.

Westpac, a major Australian bank, has re-designed its point-of-sale (POS) terminals to help blind and visually impaired people use them more easily. 110,000 machines are being changed for Android-based devices with new functionality.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka introduced a national QR code standard for local currency payments in July 2019. Known as LankaQR, 24 payment apps from 21 financial institutions have now been certified for use with the system. The central bank has begun a nationwide rollout of the LankaQR payment system.