SICPA recently issued its 2023 Sustainability Report. Given that it issued its first Corporate Social Responsibility report in 2013, adopted United Nation (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in 2019, and in 2022 committed to getting to net zero emissions by 2050 (and to be carbon neutral by 2035), what is new in this report?

A staff working paper by the Bank of Canada seeks to understand what would be possible if Canadians made more mobile payments.

As we are aware, the use of cash is most certainly not being promoted with the same vigour that the use of electronic or mobile payments has been in recent media and advertising.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) carried out its latest survey on the acceptance of cash at selected companies in Spring 2024 and has now published its findings. The good news is that cash continues to be strongly supported. The less good news is that there is early evidence of change.

At the recent CBDC Conference in Istanbul a number of key themes emerged. That the given focus of this event, as its name indicates, is predominantly on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), these themes were in sharper contrast to the subsequent Digital Currency Conference in London, which had a broader remit.

The International Mint Industry Association (IMIA) has seven European mints as full members and seven associate members. It has recently issued a brief that argues for pro-active policies to safeguard cash payments to ensure European crisis resilience. Although some of the arguments are European specific, the broad thesis has wider relevance.

Thailand is planning to give citizens with a certain level of income and savings a financial boost by transferring funds to them through a digital wallet.

The European Payments Initiative (EPI) is a Europe-wide bank-backed venture set up to build a European rival to Mastercard and Visa.

The Bank of Canada is stepping back from a implementation of a CBDC.

Two articles about innovation. One about types of company that innovate. The second asking us to think radically about how to leverage coming technology.

Mobile banking allows people to manage financial services via their smartphones. No wonder it is the fastest growing banking channel, with big implications for traditional options such as bank branches.

The Bank of England’s 2023/24 report outlines significant activities related to banknotes, payments and digital currency. Banknote value and volume in circulation was flat but net seigniorage income was up 153%. The Bank continues to make progress on its net zero carbon goals.

An article about the challenges of public transport digital ticketing lays out the general problems of going digital.

Currency Research has launched the AI Bootcamp, facilitated by The Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, which will explore AI tools and strategies for revolutionising supervisory innovation, with practical insights and a tailored roadmap for AI adoption.

McKinsey’s has published a list of the top 15 tech trends to follow. Chris Skinner, an independent commentator on the financial markets and an author, highlighted this recently in his blog, TheFinanser.com.

The Cash Cycle Seminars (ICCOS) are annual events from Currency Research (CR) that bring global knowledge to regional markets in the Americas, Asia, and EMEA.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a paper considering the security of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). While there are frequent papers covering CBDCs and design features affecting privacy, financial inclusion, and the impact on monetary policy, it is rare for security to be covered. The paper lays out why and how a CBDC is different from existing digital payments and reviews the risks they face.

A recent blog by Sam Bobeov and Fintech Wrap on Payment : Unpacked asked who gets left behind in a cashless world.

The UK’s Competition Appeals Tribunal has rejected an appeal by Visa and Mastercard against a class action that claimed that businesses that received payments by commercial cards paid fees much higher than they should have been, causing them significant losses.

In June and September 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provided support to the Banco Central de la República Dominicana (BCRD) to explore CBDC.