As noted in another article this month, the CBDC Conference took place in Istanbul 12-14 September. This article reports almost entirely on the central bank perspective on CBDCs, particularly the use cases justifying their use.

The Future of Cash conference typically attracts some 120 participants from central and commercial banks, CIT and cash management companies, academics and other cash cycle stakeholders. The 2023 event takes place 6-8 November in Istanbul.

A new study published in the Munich Personal RePEc Archive looks at what influences consumers’ decision to use cash when presented with digital alternatives.

The Bank of Ghana recently briefed the Payments Canada Summit on its CBDC work, the eCedi.

Safaricom has increased both the account and daily transaction limits on its M-Pesa mobile money service from KSh 300,000 to KSh 500,000, approximately $3,477. The limit for an individual transaction remains at Ksh 150,000.

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 is now law in the UK. The Act requires the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure the maintenance of reasonable provision of cash deposit and withdrawal services for personal and business current accounts held at banks.

Asia Cash Cycle Seminar (ICCOS) The seminar takes place 11-13 September in Bangkok, co-hosted by the Bank of Thailand. It starts with a summit for central banks.

Austria is looking at including the right to use cash in its constitution. A task force is looking at putting the right to pay with physical money and to guarantee access to ATMs.

An undergraduate study in Nigeria has been published by the Munich Personal RePEc Archive which considers what happens to money, monetary policy and financial assets when cash demand falls.

McKinsey have issued a white paper on what is happening with AI and Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT).

The role of Currency Issue Director is great preparation for high office in a central bank. Ask Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, or Michelle Bullock, soon to be Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, both of whom have managed currency in their banks. What makes it such good preparation?

Laos has trialled a digital currency, the Digital Lao Kip, working with Soramitsu, a Japanese fintech company.

The Bank of Canada (BOC) has issued a staff discussion paper examining whether or how CBDCs can deliver on the promise of financial inclusion in a cashless society.

The Banque de France issued a working paper in October 2022 that dealt with a number of fundamental questions about cash, questions that are particularly important in a less cash scenario. The paper addressed not just why people hold cash but why they hold different denominations. As the economy changes, what happens to cash holdings?

CBDCs started to become visible in published papers and discussions around 2016. No doubt there was much material before then but the acceleration of interest and activity has taken CBDCs from a niche to main stream media discussions.

The European Commission (EC) has published proposals on the legal tender status of cash and a possible future European Central Bank Digital Currency.

The Dutch National Bank recognises that while digital payments are a preferred payment solution for some, they are a challenge for others. A missing element in understanding this is the extent to which cash is important and which groups cannot do without cash.

At the Currency Conference in May 54 members of the International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) met to discuss how to build a resilient cash infrastructure, a highly topical subject.

The European Money and Finance Forum has recently published a useful paper on big data and machine learning in central banks.

Planning for the third euro series is underway. The Theme Advisory Group has issued a shortlist of six themes following an internal voting procedure.