In September Franz Seitz and Gerhard Rösl published a paper laying out the challenges and risks faced by cash in countries moving to being less cash societies. It is a tour de force providing both facts and arguments about what can be done. It provides the context and the arguments for the future of cash discussions heard at every conference this autumn – ATMIA, Coin, Retail Branch Transformation, High Security Print.

Pascal Wicht, Strategic Designer at SICPA, presented at October’s ATMIA conference on the social role of cash, particularly for Gen Z. This work forms part of the International Currency Associations (ICA) programme of understanding and advocating for cash by going beyond the pure retail and payment functions of cash.

Matt Sykes of The CPT Group has published an interesting article on LinkedIn. While it discusses recent changes, and possible changes, to the Australian cash system, the article raises questions for all.

To pick out a small number of presentations, NCR Atleos and Brinks talked about the trend to outsource ATM services and management. Tietoevcy focused on a different type of outsourcing, ATM pooling using Bankomat in Sweden and Geldmaat in the Netherlands as examples, and the Eika Alliance in Norway presented their pooling operations and approach to banking.

Domestic ATM cash withdrawals are subject to interchange fees, which are designed to compensate ATM deployers for operational costs. These fees have remained largely unchanged for years, in spite of rising operational costs. This divergence poses a threat to the sustainability of ATM networks.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a hot topic and there are a number of conferences focusing on how central banks could, and should, be using it. Jelena Stapf, Head of Division Branch operations, IT Applications and Automation, Bundesbank (BBk), presented how the BBk’s cash demand is using it at the ATMIA conference.

The Datos Retail Branch Transformation Europe event in London brought together the full cross section of organisations involved in cash management, including central and commercial banks, cash management and cash in transit companies, machines and software suppliers, think tanks and more, in the context of creating the retail bank branches fit for today’s reality.

The Digital Currency Conference took place in London in September this year, starting with a workshop focused on the Digital Pound. This spent time trying to establish the use cases that make a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) a necessity so that it is actually used. This is a recurring topic currently as central banks work through whether to introduce a CBDC.

At the Digital Currency Conference, the Bank of Israel (BOI) laid out its CBDC approach starting with looking at the rapid growth of digital payments as a proportion of all payments across the world. Cash may be holding up in absolute numbers but relative to the total, it is falling fast.

SICPA recently issued its 2023 Sustainability Report. Following the publication of its first Corporate Social Responsibility report in 2013, this report details its systematic approach across the whole spectrum of ESG activities.

A staff working paper by the Bank of Canada seeks to understand what would be possible if Canadians made more mobile payments.

As we are aware, the use of cash is most certainly not being promoted with the same vigour that the use of electronic or mobile payments has been in recent media and advertising.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) carried out its latest survey on the acceptance of cash at selected companies in Spring 2024 and has now published its findings. The good news is that cash continues to be strongly supported. The less good news is that there is early evidence of change.

At the recent CBDC Conference in Istanbul a number of key themes emerged. That the given focus of this event, as its name indicates, is predominantly on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), these themes were in sharper contrast to the subsequent Digital Currency Conference in London, which had a broader remit.

The International Mint Industry Association (IMIA) has seven European mints as full members and seven associate members. It has recently issued a brief that argues for pro-active policies to safeguard cash payments to ensure European crisis resilience. Although some of the arguments are European specific, the broad thesis has wider relevance.

Thailand is planning to give citizens with a certain level of income and savings a financial boost by transferring funds to them through a digital wallet.

The European Payments Initiative (EPI) is a Europe-wide bank-backed venture set up to build a European rival to Mastercard and Visa.

The Bank of Canada is stepping back from a implementation of a CBDC.

Two articles about innovation. One about types of company that innovate. The second asking us to think radically about how to leverage coming technology.

Mobile banking allows people to manage financial services via their smartphones. No wonder it is the fastest growing banking channel, with big implications for traditional options such as bank branches.