The Riksbank has issued its phase 3 report on its work to understand how an e-krona might work. This phase investigated how the Riksbank could collaborate with existing payment service providers to allow access to the e-krona based on the existing collaborative approaches.

Latvijas Bank reported that in February 2023 non-cash payments made up 67% of transactions with cash responsible for the rest. The average number of payments per person per week was at a historical high of 14.3, up from 12.8 a year earlier.

Three leading French banks have announced a plan to share ATM services, similar to what has happened in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Something strange is happening in the US. According to PYMNTS research, fewer US restaurants are accepting digital wallets as a form of payment. Between September 2021 and April 2022, the number fell from 81% to 73%. At the same time consumer confidence in wallets has been rising.

Cash Essentials has issued a report, ‘The Role of Cash in the Future Monetary Landscape’. Based on a Futures Literacy Lab hosted by Cash Essentials in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair for the Future of Finance at Ecole des Ponts Business School, in September 2022. The paper lays out how a Futures Literacy Lab works and seeks to understand the future of money.

The International Currency Association (ICA), representing the global currency sector, has published a Cash Policy White Paper, available on its website www.currencyassociation.org, which is summarised here. It wants policy makers to recognise that the benefits of cash to society may be lost without practical steps to protect the supply and acceptance of cash in society and promote its further development.

On 5th April, FedCash® Services, Pakistan Security Printing Corporation, G+D and Reconnaissance will talk about different ways of disposing of unfit cotton banknotes in a free online seminar.

Germany’s community bank group has argued that Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) should only be brought into circulation by commercial banks who should be ‘appropriately compensated’ for it.

While data about digital payments is usually good, measuring cash is problematic. Understanding cash usage is important for regulatory authorities. IMF Working Paper WP/23/62 explores the measurement of cash based on ATM cash withdrawals value as an alternative to the traditional cash in circulation as a proportion of GDP method.

The 2023 World Banknote Summit (WBS) took place in Antwerp and was structured around three key areas – the performance of cash in a crisis, the sustainability of cash and the future outlook of cash.

The cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase has published a series of tweets giving its perspective on stablecoins, providing a good summary and insight about them.

Although a snap shot of cash related crimes taken from media reports, they are a reminder of the risks of cash related crime used to justify less cash.

Danmarks Nationalbank held a conference on 9 March in Copenhagen that looked at crypto assets and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), and then Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

The Bank of Canada (BOC) has published two survey reports in the last few months. The first was the Methods of Payment survey 2021 and the second the Merchant Acceptance Survey Pilot Study.

The International Mint Industry Association (IMIA) issued a brief making the case for cash and for freedom of choice at its launch this month.

At the end of 2011, the Netherlands had 2,654 bank branches. At the end of 2021 this had fallen to 726, and not all of those provided over the counter cash services. At the same time, more than 4% of retailers now inform customers that they don’t accept cash.

The International Mint Industry Association has published a position paper (2023/01) urging the European Commission to give legal certainty on the implications of the legal tender status of euro banknotes and coins in terms of mandatory acceptance and to enshrine it in secondary law.

Currency Research will be holding the inaugural Silk Road Cash & Payments Conference in Almaty from 27-29 March.

Innovation in the UK’s banking sector continues, with Barclays Bank announcing the introduction of semi-permanent banking pods. 10 will be established by summer 2023 following a successful trial.

The International Mint Industry Association (IMIA) was founded last year and officially launched this month at the World Money Fair in Berlin, with a specific focus on research and advocacy for coins as part of the cash, and hence payments, ecosystem. IMIA President Gerhard Starsich (GS) and Managing Director Martina Horakova (MH) spoke to sister publication Coin & Mint News™ about the foundation of the new association, the role of coins in the cash cycle, and how the IMIA plans to make the case for their importance, and indeed that of cash overall.