Currency Conference Review – an Industry in Change

The Currency Conference took part in Mexico City in May 2023. Two sessions were particularly relevant, an overview of cash today and work to ensure cash is resilient.

Changing cash landscape

This session started with a panel of speakers from the 5 Nations group, which consists of the central banks of Australia, Canada, Mexico, the UK and US. In overview cash demand has been growing steadily but surges during times of crisis, the pandemic being a good example. Demand is primarily for store of value notes rather than transaction denominations. Since 2021 the demand for cash has started to fall back.

The 5 Nations have seen a sharp reduction in bank branches and ATMs, making access to cash more challenging, although on paper one would think that most people live within 5 km of an ATM. A range of studies across the 5 Nations show that cash is important, and is perceived to be important, to significant number of people.