The International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) is 20 years old this year. At the Banknote Conference in Fort Worth, Texas last month it held a session on ‘Cash Visibility and Collaboration’, which was a full house with nearly 120 people attending. Even with 77 member organisations drawn from central banks and suppliers, this turnout was exceptional.

The third DENARIA Conference took place in Madrid on 24 April, hosted by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP). The focus was on financial inclusion, and how cash can ensure a fair, inclusive and secure digital transition, particularly in a country where cash continues to be the main payment method for a very significant number of citizens.

The 2024 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice in the US found payment transactions increasing 46 per month (up seven) but cash use stable (seven per month), and therefore falling as a share of payments. Cash held as a store of value and as a backup payment instrument remained ahead of 2020 numbers.

The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is to enter a developmental phase for a CBDC for payment settlement with local and international banks.

Visa has laid out its payment plans for the future. The focus is on making payments personalised for the individual user, convenient and secure.

The payments landscape continues to shift as digital innovation introduces and shapes new customer offerings. In line with this, we all recognise that how we are using cash is evolving – but it is clear that cash is here to stay and remains an important part of the payments mix for end consumers.

The Bank of Canada carries out regular Methods of Payment surveys to measure payment method adoption, use at the point of sale and perceptions about payment methods. This helps the Bank with its management of banknotes and understanding of digital currencies and may help with its work on a possible CBDC.

The CBDC Conference take place from 10-12 September in Istanbul. The conference organiser has now published the first tranche of confirmed speakers, 15 of whom are from central banks, as well as the International Monetary Fund.

For Europe, the key piece of environmental legislation is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The European Commission estimates 50,000 companies around the world will be affected, with the first companies having to apply the new rules from as early as 2025, for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024.

Sweden’s Riksbank, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), the Central Bank of Uruguay and the Federal Reserve all provided information on cash use in their economies at the recent Banknote Conference in Fort Worth, TX.

Regional conflicts, rampant inflation, national debt crises, and the resurgence of monetary sovereignty are all contributing to the reshaping of the world’s currencies.

A few days after celebrating its 90th anniversary, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shakti Kant Das has announced several new payment initiatives.

Apple has responded to an antitrust case brought in 2022 in Europe. It is offering to allow iPhone users to make contactless payments using third-party providers.

In February A$9.5 billion was withdrawn from ATMs in Australia. This figure is being used by campaigners to argue that it is Australia’s banks, rather than Australia’s people, who are driving cash out.

Sarah Breeden, Deputy Governor for Financial Stability at the Bank of England, has spoken about a discussion paper to be issued in summer 2024 on tokenised money. It will include feedback on the paper in its work on stablecoin regulation and a possible retail CBDC.

The Swiss National Bank, with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Swiss innovation hub, is running project Helvetia III, the world’s first issuance of a wholesale CBDC on a regulated third party platform to settle commercial transactions with tokenised assets.

A forum is a meeting where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged, and that is the aim of the Cash Sustainability Forum, providing the opportunity for all stakeholders involved in cash to meet, share, understand and learn.

The Bank of Canada (BOC) carries out regular Methods of Payment (MOP) surveys to measure payment method adoption, use at the point of sale (POS) and perceptions about payment methods. This helps the BOC with its management of banknotes and understanding of digital currencies and may help with its work on a possible Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

For Europe, the key piece of environmental legislation is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The European Commission estimates 50,000 companies around the world will be affected, with the first companies having to apply the new rules from as early as 2025, for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024.

Payment technology has had a bad time in the UK recently. Four major firms have had IT issues that hit contactless payments– two food outlets (McDonalds and Greggs), two supermarkets (Sainsbury’s and Tesco).