The Bank of Canada runs two ‘Cash Alternative Surveys’ in April and August each year of a representative sample of 2,500–3,500 Canadians. It combines this with data from its Bank Note Distribution System to monitor the use of cash.

A paper by the Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF), ‘Cash: A Blessing or a Curse?’, examines what happened in Mexico when changes to cash availability were made.

In November 2021 the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB) Working Group on Access and Acceptance of Cash ERPB issued its report.

There is an assumption that cash is a driver of the shadow economy, but this is not proven by empirical evidence. Occasional paper 649 from the Banca d’Italia used the decision to increase the limit on cash usage as an opportunity to study what happened to cash and the shadow economy.

Last month we reviewed the Bank of Canada’s report on the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 on cash usage in Canada. This month we consider a report using data from four countries, the UK, the US, Spain and Mexico, as well as the EU.

Whilst we may all be tired of hearing about COVID-19 and its impact on just about everything to do with our everyday lives, it is important for those involved with cash and payments to examine its impact on cash and payments to date and perhaps, more importantly still, the implications for the future.

With the UN Climate Change conference, COP 26, taking place through early November, we thought it would be appropriate to review the environmental work of stakeholders in the cash industry over the last few years.

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’.

The Bank of Canada (BOC) has a Currency Inventory Management Strategy (IMS) based on its high-speed sorters that capture the image of every banknote, including the serial number, along with the date the banknote was created, shipped from the central bank’s distribution sites and returned to them.

15 organisations across the entire cash cycle have contributed 61 separate case studies illustrating what they have done to reduce their environmental impact for a white paper which will be ready for the UN Climate Change conference (COP 26) starting 1 November. A further five organisations will be providing more examples.