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.

Franklin Noll of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has written a payment systems research briefing note on what can be learnt from the experience of retail CBDCs (rCBDC) in the Caribbean.

The rise of cashless payments has raised the concern that some consumers will be induced to spend beyond their means. As monthly income is spent over the course of a month, if consumers are aware of their reducing balance, they are likely to constrain their spending. The Swiss National Bank has published a paper that explores differences in how freely people spend between people who pay in cash and digitally and how their awareness of their balances affects their cash management.

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.

The European Central Bank has started to make the case for a digital euro. The central bank's Programme Director Digital Euro recently noted that a digital euro, while complementing cash, would strengthen Europe’s strategic sovereignty by reducing dependence on non-European payment providers and offer another form of trusted and secure transactions for people in Europe.

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.

A study of the use of mobile money in Bangladesh gives a new perspective on how it differs from other payment methods.

The ability of private citizens to execute electronic transactions using a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), central bank money, introduces new monetary stability challenges. A paper by Harald Uhlig from the University of Chicago considers this. The paper is highly theoretical but raises the sort of questions central banks have to get right in their planning for a CBDC.

The Federal Reserve has published its 2023 findings on consumer payment behaviour. Confusingly, this is based on the 2022 survey.

The Federal Reserve has published a paper on what happens to international payments and the role of the dollar should a US Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) be issued.

The first afternoon of the second Cash Sustainability Forum (CSF), which takes place in Frankfurt from 24-26 June this year, will be a workshop dedicated to the recycling and recirculation of cash. It will build on a white paper currently being researched and prepared, and for which input is still very welcome.

The second payment methods survey of companies in Switzerland took place in Spring 2023, with 1,750 companies taking part.

The Dutch National Bank (DNB) has published a working paper detailing research on a transition from an economy without a CBDC to one with it.

Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBBNS) will host a dedicated event to bring the international central bank community together around the future role cash will play in society.

This year, the International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) is concentrating on cash visibility and collaboration.

In a push to advance cashless transactions, four Czech banks are rolling out a novel solution that lets merchants skip traditional terminals while eliminating the need for customers to pay in cash.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has published an article in its Bulletin about cash usage. The article starts by explaining that transactional demand is hard to calculate and then goes on to use four different methods to establish a range of estimates.

A technical article by Manuel Muñoz and Oscar Soons, unusually, considers the role of CBDCs as a store of value instrument for consumers.

Dr Franklin Noll, a payments specialist who works as a Lead at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, has posted in LinkedIn an interesting piece on financial / payment inclusion. He has expressed his own opinions, not those of the Federal Reserve Bank.

The CBDC conference returns to Istanbul 10-12 September.