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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

Forecasting cash in circulation (CIC) is a key activity of central banks as it is an important variable in monetary policymaking, affecting overall liquidity in the economy and guiding their currency issuance operations.

Brett Scott’s new book has just been published. It reads easily, flowing along at a great pace. The book lays out with wonderful clarity what money is, how every type of ‘money’ has become what it is from cash to CBDCs, with every variant in between, and how the financial system works and interconnects.

Cryptocurrencies are in a strange place. There were 18,465 cryptocurrencies as of March 2022, although perhaps only 10,363 are active. There are over 300 million users worldwide and more than 18,000 businesses now accept some form of crypto as payment.

Deutsche Bank is to require from July any of its vendors with a contract over €500,000 a year to undertake a vendor sustainability rating assessment with EcoVadis, or another eligible rating agency.

The Central Bank of Nigeria is planning to introduce Bank Neutral Cash Hubs. It has issued a consultation paper en route to issuing final guidelines, and the draft proposals lay out the CBN’s vision and intentions.

There is a belief that banking can become purely digital. During the pandemic cash usage fell and we couldn’t visit bank branches. Banks were quick to close ATMs and branches, justifying this as customer choice.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey carried out its first ever Methods of Payment Survey in September/October 2020.

A Cash and Payments Sustainability Forum™ will be held in Edinburgh in the UK on 15-16 November. More information about the event can be found at cashandpaymentsustainabilityforum.com.

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has published its diary of consumer payment choice based on its 2021 research.

The announcement by the UK government that it will legislate in the Financial Services and Markets bill to protect cash by ensuring continued access to withdrawal and deposit facilities across the UK has led to a series of pieces in the UK’s media about cash.

A recent article by RBC demonstrated that in Canada the use of cash as a proportion of GDP decreased from 4.8% in 1961 to 2.9% in 1981. From then until about 2008/9 it held steady at about the 3% level. Since then it has risen steadily reaching 4.4% in 2021.