Currency Research’s (CR) regionally focused Cash Cycle Seminars are returning the second half of this year with stops in Bali and Miami. Established in 1995, the Cash Cycle Seminars bring global best practices around commercial cash management, distribution, and circulation to address key issues in regional markets, providing a holistic view of the cash cycle and the challenges and opportunities confronting the entire range of industry stakeholders.

Five big banks in Belgium have joined the European Payments Initiative (EPI) with the intention of rolling out the Wero digital wallet and instant account-to-account (A2A) payment application to customers in the first half of next year.

Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer says stablecoins offer promising attributes like high speed and low costs but lack essential attributes like a seamless user experience and wide distribution to consumers.

ATMIA recently held a webinar with Diebold Nixdorf (DN) looking at the role of ATMs in sustainable banking. Contributors were Helena Mueller, VP Europe, Matt Phillips, Head of Banking, UK & Ireland and Raoul Meichtry, Managing Director, Switzerland.

At May’s Currency Conference the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) Anak Somkanae, Senior Director, Payment Infrastructure and Services Strategy and Development Department, presented on cash logistics and its significant carbon footprint and. Separately, Montira Pattanakul, Senior Director, Banknote Operations Department took part in panel discussion on the cash product from cradle to grave. These two sessions gave an excellent overview of the BOT’s cash operations.

Despite the rapid rise of digital payments, cash remains a critical pillar of the global financial system, especially in regions where digital infrastructure is lacking or financial inclusion is low. The cash ecosystem is complex, involving central banks, commercial banks, cash-in-transit (CIT) companies, and technology providers. It is also facing mounting pressure to adapt due to infrastructure vulnerabilities, economic misalignments, financial exclusion and a need for better crisis preparedness.

Over 80% of online merchants offer payment by Cash on Delivery (CoD) in markets such as Greece, Bulgaria and Slovakia.

France’s National Payments Committee urges immediate action to secure future payments sovereignty amid rising geopolitical tensions. Cash is crucial for economic resilience, industrial autonomy and national sovereignty.

The news pages and feeds are full of stories about stablecoins at the moment. For example, Citi has recently announced that they are looking to issue their own stablecoins and their CEO, Jane Fraser, said that stablecoin issuance could reach $3.7 trillion by the end of the decade. In the US President Trump has signed into law the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act to establish a regulatory framework for ‘payment’ stablecoin issuers.

A new paper from the SUERF, the European Money and Finance Forum, explains that the rising systemic importance of Non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), is sharply increasing the need for central banks to intervene to stabilise financial systems as banks become less able to provide liquidity.

UK Finance recently published its Annual Fraud Report. It describes in detail what is happening and changes in fraud. Although it does not say how those costs are then passed on to the consumer, it will undoubtedly be the consumer who ultimately pays. Understanding fraud is, therefore, important.

Pakistan’s 2025-2026 federal budget marks a decisive policy pivot toward cultivating a digitally empowered, future-oriented financial landscape.

Speaking in Kyiv at the National Bank of Ukraine, the Governor of the Bank of England (BoE) spoke about the role of central banks in the context of changing market structures and events. His speech throws an interesting light on recent developments in the US and Europe in this area.

Finally, the US Senate has passed legislation about stablecoins after a number of years trying.

The CB+DC Conference 2025 takes place from 9-11 September in Nassau, in collaboration with the Central Bank of The Bahamas.

May’s edition of Cash & Payment News™ reported on a recent Bank of Canada staff paper updating a previous study on access to cash in Canada. Hot on its heels is a new paper that moves the topic forward.

A survey of UK consumers by LHV Bank finds growing frustration with both traditional and digital banks.

The Payment Choice Coalition (PCC) in the US is an initiative launched in July 2024 by a high-level group of executives from companies active in the cash cycle: Brinks, Davis Bancorp, Fifth Third Bank, G+D, Loomis, and Lowers Risk Group. It has since expanded to include NCR Atleos, Diebold Nixdorf, Western Union, Controltek, and Crane Payment Innovations.

If you pay for something with a banknote the transaction involves you and the merchant. With the arrival of cheques banks became involved. The credit and debit card required the four pillar model that remains the basic platform for most digital payments, involving four parties (issuer bank, acquirer bank, merchant and cardholder. This four pillar model has at least six steps between the card being tendered and the transaction being completed.

Amnon Samid is a co-founder and leader of the interdisciplinary BitMint team that is working on Quantum-Resistant solutions for data, communication and money, including tokenisation, crypto, CBDC, stablecoins, lending, and any other value transfer and protect. He managed the first ever CBDC project that passed banking stress tests.