In this new periodic series, we will cover in brief the news and information in various countries’ central bank annual reports as they relate to cash and payments, starting off with Ireland, Rwanda and Bhutan.

A paper by two academics from King’s Business School and the University of Liverpool and by a central banker from the Bundesbank explores the complexity around disintermediation, modelling different outcomes.

The last time Currency News™ (sister publication of Cash, Payment & CBDC News™), published its Directory of Currency & Technology Suppliers was 2018. The industry has changed a great deal since then with companies coming and going. The 2024 edition has now been published and is available to purchase in either a PDF or printed format.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published a working paper looking at ensuring that a digital euro does not impact financial stability or the transmission of monetary policy.

A recent McKinsey survey in Latin America found that the number of people who said cash was their preferred payment method had halved between 2021 and 2023.

The latest Bank for International Settlements report shows research into wholesale CBDC overtaking that of retail CBDCs.

The ECB has published a blog ‘Making the digital euro truly private’, with privacy an important concern for CBDCs. A strong focus on privacy will never convince sceptics and the realities of know your customer and anti-terror funding legislation have to be accommodated.

It is unclear whether the public and merchants will use a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to make a payment. The European Central Bank (ECB) has published a paper that explores this based on survey payment data and using a quantitative framework that estimates CBDC demand based on individuals’ preferences for the attributes of different payment options.

It appears that payment stakeholders in the US and UK are seeking to pass laws and take legal action to address a perceived lack of competition in the digital payment arena. In the last few weeks, there have been a series of reports detailing legislative, regulatory and court developments in this area.

There have been a series of press reports about cash over the last few weeks. Put them together and a story emerges of what a society going cashless looks like.

In March, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System published an International Finance Discussion Paper on the demand for US banknotes at home and abroad , an important question given that the US dollar is used as a medium of exchange and store of value outside its own borders far more than any other currency.

The International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) is 20 years old this year. At the Banknote Conference in Fort Worth, Texas last month it held a session on ‘Cash Visibility and Collaboration’, which was a full house with nearly 120 people attending. Even with 77 member organisations drawn from central banks and suppliers, this turnout was exceptional.

The third DENARIA Conference took place in Madrid on 24 April, hosted by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP). The focus was on financial inclusion, and how cash can ensure a fair, inclusive and secure digital transition, particularly in a country where cash continues to be the main payment method for a very significant number of citizens.

The 2024 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice in the US found payment transactions increasing 46 per month (up seven) but cash use stable (seven per month), and therefore falling as a share of payments. Cash held as a store of value and as a backup payment instrument remained ahead of 2020 numbers.

The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is to enter a developmental phase for a CBDC for payment settlement with local and international banks.

Visa has laid out its payment plans for the future. The focus is on making payments personalised for the individual user, convenient and secure.

The payments landscape continues to shift as digital innovation introduces and shapes new customer offerings. In line with this, we all recognise that how we are using cash is evolving – but it is clear that cash is here to stay and remains an important part of the payments mix for end consumers.

The Bank of Canada carries out regular Methods of Payment surveys to measure payment method adoption, use at the point of sale and perceptions about payment methods. This helps the Bank with its management of banknotes and understanding of digital currencies and may help with its work on a possible CBDC.

The CBDC Conference take place from 10-12 September in Istanbul. The conference organiser has now published the first tranche of confirmed speakers, 15 of whom are from central banks, as well as the International Monetary Fund.

For Europe, the key piece of environmental legislation is the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The European Commission estimates 50,000 companies around the world will be affected, with the first companies having to apply the new rules from as early as 2025, for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024.