During a panel discussion at this summer’s Currency Technology Symposium, a number of speakers described their cash cycles and access to cash. While the Dutch National Bank (DNB) is insourcing cash processing as cash volumes fall, South Africa is working with stakeholders to manage the quality of notes in circulation, and Switzerland is collecting data to inform policy on maintaining access to cash. Furthermore, Prof Dr Barbara Brandl of Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, highlighted the need for access to both cash and digital money, to mitigate against inequalities that come with digital-only payments.

A survey by UK ATM network LINK found that people under 45 in the UK tend to prefer a digital wallet, while people who are older use physical debit cards. Fewer than half of UK adults carry a physical wallet. Despite that, in 2024 about £1,250 in cash per adult was withdrawn from ATMs and 51% of people said they had used cash in the previous week.

In Brazil, hackers have gained access to funds worth BRL 800 million ($148 million), held in accounts at the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB). They achieved this by exploiting the valid credentials of an employee associated with the BCB’s instant payment network Pix. The implications and consequences of this incident have led to doubts about the cybersecurity of Brazil’s financial system.

The ‘Cash Paradox’ is the well known conundrum of cash transaction volumes falling while cash in circulation volumes increase. This gap can only be explained by cash hoarding. Much of this will be by commercial banks, hence the surge in cash returned to the European Central Bank once its interest rate turned from negative to positive.

The ATMIA Europe & Emerging Markets Summit will take place on 14-15 October in London, with a strong focus on cash’s evolving role in a digital-first world.

Despite predictions of a cashless society, cash remains vital across all age groups. New ECB research reveals older adults prefer cash for transactions, but young adults pay with cash at roughly the average rate and keep cash reserves. The perceived importance of cash is rising for all!

A new Japanese survey has found that the most common method for cashless payments is to use a barcode or QR code displayed on a smartphone, with 84.2% of people using one.

The Central Bank of Brazil wants to deliver a CBDC, the Drex, in 2026.

Central banks are exploring ways to make cross-border wholesale payments faster and cheaper using new technologies such as tokenisation. A recent Financial Times article lays out the options.

David Fagleman from Enryo, a financial services consultancy1, published an article in Finextra about a surprising shift in the UK payment landscape, a digital slowdown2. A number of countries have reported a stabilisation in cash usage, the most recent being Canada in its 2024 Methods of Payment Survey3, suggesting that there is a ‘bottom’ for cash usage.

The CB+DC Conference 2025 will take place from 9-11 September in the Bahamas. Unsurprisingly, the Central Bank of the Bahamas, with the world’s first circulating CBDC, the Sand Dollar, is playing a key role in the conference. It is also celebrating its 50th anniversary.

European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board Member Piero Cipollone has confirmed in a speech the ECB’s view that euro cash will remain essential alongside a digital euro, emphasising its role as a stable medium of exchange and store of value.

Matt Sykes of the CPT Group in Australia, global experts in cash, payments and money systems, has written a review about whether cash can deliver on its role providing critical redundancy for national payment systems. They want to start a debate about whether the infrastructure that supports cash distribution deliver on this promise given the acute and growing strain it is under. Does a misalignment between policy assumptions and market realities risk rendering cash ineffective as a payment option in a crisis?

At G+D’s Currency Technology Symposium in July, one of the discussions centred on how efficiency can be leveraged to build resilience across a wide range of scenarios. Managing the steady state is relatively straightforward with its predictable workflow, regular cash processing volumes within expected parameters, reliable supply chains, sufficient staff etc.

Fifth Third Bank are the sixth-largest commercial payments provider in the US by revenue, and they spoke at G+D’s Currency Technology Symposium in July. They have just announced that they are buying DTS Connex, which provides cash management software for multi-location businesses such as retailers, restaurants and healthcare providers.

The GENIUS Act (Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act), is a US federal bill establishing the first comprehensive regulatory framework for the issuance and supervision of payment stablecoins in the US. The legislation introduces a tiered oversight model, codifies prudential standards, and confirms that payment stablecoins are not to be treated as securities or deposit liabilities. It is, therefore, critical legislation with global implications.

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.

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

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.

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.