Updates on upcoming conferences including: CBDC Conference, Future of Cash Conference, The Silk Road Conference on Cash and Payments, The Coin Conference, and the Cash & Payments Sustainability Forum.

Mobile money systems, of which M-Pesa is the best known, are evolving to the detriment of the network of agents who handle their transactions, according to a recent article in The Economist magazine.

Auriga has won the ATMIA’s cost of cash contest for the best white paper on how to improve cash management and logistics.

Taiwan has said that it has completed trials of its prototype retail CBDC in technical simulations. This was concluded three months early. Electronic payments have risen from 40% in 2017 to 60% in the first quarter of 2022.

The Bank of England has issued its climate related financial disclosure document for 2022, which builds on the significant progress made in 2021.

There is much talk of smart contracts in the National Bank of Denmark paper on payments. Whether in the context of CBDCs or other payments, they are frequently put forward as an attractive ‘prize’ worth pursuing.

The Bank of Canada (BOC) has issued a paper investigating the relationship of Bitcoin owners with cash. The paper is written in the context of understanding whether private digital currencies will make serious inroads into the use of cash, particularly for transactions.

The Cash & Payments Sustainability Forum™ takes place in Edinburgh 14-16 November. While COP 27 is an alternative option given that it is taking place in Egypt at the same time, the Sustainability Forum will be more useful for those working at the sharp end of the cash and payments industry.

At the Intergraf conference the Banque de France presented on the access to cash situation in France and how it has changed since 2018. The good news is that access to cash remains good throughout France. However, there are indications of change.

At the end of May a new law in Spain made it mandatory for retailers to accept cash, with refusal to accept cash becoming an offence. Under certain conditions it can be regarded as a severe, rather than a minor, offence.

The financial industry is paying increasing attention to published Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data, driven by regulatory requirements and investor demand.

Brazil is doing something different around payments. It is driving increasing levels of financial inclusion using digital payments, something much talked about but seldom delivered.

Four speakers focused on the future of cash at the recent Mint Directors Conference online forum. Two academics used their research to explain how, and why people pay as they do and then two speakers questioned future payments and how they might evolve.

The global independent think tank CashEssentials has announced the launch of the CashTech Innovation Awards, to recognise innovations that will facilitate access to and acceptance of cash.

The Asia Cash Cycle Seminar (ICCOS) takes place 5-7 September 2022, returning to its live and in person format after a three-year hiatus.

The CBDC conference has now posted its 2022 agenda online. More information about the conference can be found at www.cbdc-conference.com.

Last year, the International Banknote Designers Association (IBDA) held a virtual conference. One speaker, Dr Franklin Noll, presented his thoughts on how we’ll be paying in ten years time.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Hong Kong Innovation Hub will start Project Selah in the third quarter of 2022. The project sees the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Bank of Israel working together, with the BIS, to test a two-tier system.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority is concerned that some banks and building societies are closing branches without considering carefully enough the impact on their local communities. It is looking at updating guidance to rectify this.

A website, Scitechdaily, has written about what they refer to as the ‘cashless’ effect, the increased willingness to buy things when physical cash does not change hands.