News | Cash & Payment News

John Winchcombe

24 Sept. 2025

5 min read

News in Brief

Over the last five years the UK has closed a higher percentage of branches (34%) than almost all European countries, less than Spain (37%) and the Netherlands (48%).

News

John Winchcombe

24 Sept. 2025

2 min read

Sustainability Past the ‘Hype Cycle’

The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a member-based organisation committed to helping banks address the effects of climate change and associated economic impact, has ‘initiated a member vote to decide on a proposed transition from a membership-based alliance to establishing its guidance as a new framework initiative’. This follows the decision by every large bank member in the US and Canada, and several others outside North America, to leave the organisation, with most departing between late 2024 and mid-2025.

Free Sustainability Free

John Winchcombe

24 Sept. 2025

3 min read

Observations on a Year of Payments

A year ago, payments expert Jeremy Light started a substack called ‘Agenda: Payments’ with the aim of helping readers around the world keep track of national payment landscapes and payment themes. He has recently posted data on reader response to 50 articles written across nine broad categories, giving an indication of where their focus and interest lie.

Payments

Martina Horakova

24 Sept. 2025

9 min read

Cash Payment Habits and Infrastructure for Resilience

In times of crisis, cash is increasingly recognised for its resilience. At an IMIA organised roundtable, Päivi Heikkinen (Head of Payment Systems Department and Chief Cashier, Bank of Finland), Matthias Schroth (Director of Cash Management Department, Oesterreichische Nationalbank – OeNB), and Koen Thuis (Head of Cash Policy & Oversight Department, De Nederlandsche Bank – DNB) discussed approaches to the future of cash infrastructure and the cash payment habit with the aim of preserving cash resilience.

Future of Cash Resilience

Guillaume Lepecq: Chair

24 Sept. 2025

2 min read

Switzerland: Cash to be Enshrined in the Constitution

Swiss lawmakers have unanimously voted to enshrine the right to use cash in the nation’s constitution.

Future of Cash Resilience

John Winchcombe

24 Sept. 2025

5 min read

Cash Initiatives Around the World

During a panel discussion at this summer’s Currency Technology Symposium, a number of speakers described their cash cycles and access to cash. While the Dutch National Bank (DNB) is insourcing cash processing as cash volumes fall, South Africa is working with stakeholders to manage the quality of notes in circulation, and Switzerland is collecting data to inform policy on maintaining access to cash. Furthermore, Prof Dr Barbara Brandl of Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, highlighted the need for access to both cash and digital money, to mitigate against inequalities that come with digital-only payments.

Future of Cash Resilience

John Winchcombe

24 Sept. 2025

2 min read

UK Cash Down But Not Out

A survey by UK ATM network LINK found that people under 45 in the UK tend to prefer a digital wallet, while people who are older use physical debit cards. Fewer than half of UK adults carry a physical wallet. Despite that, in 2024 about £1,250 in cash per adult was withdrawn from ATMs and 51% of people said they had used cash in the previous week.

Cash Usage

John Winchcombe

24 Sept. 2025

5 min read

Brazil Loses $148 Million To Hackers in Less Than Three Hours

In Brazil, hackers have gained access to funds worth BRL 800 million ($148 million), held in accounts at the Banco Central do Brasil (BCB). They achieved this by exploiting the valid credentials of an employee associated with the BCB’s instant payment network Pix. The implications and consequences of this incident have led to doubts about the cybersecurity of Brazil’s financial system.

Crime Payments

John Winchcombe

24 Sept. 2025

2 min read

The Psychology Behind Money Hoarding

The ‘Cash Paradox’ is the well known conundrum of cash transaction volumes falling while cash in circulation volumes increase. This gap can only be explained by cash hoarding. Much of this will be by commercial banks, hence the surge in cash returned to the European Central Bank once its interest rate turned from negative to positive.

Cash Usage

John Winchcombe

24 Sept. 2025

2 min read

ATMIA Summit to Focus on Cash in Digital-First World

The ATMIA Europe & Emerging Markets Summit will take place on 14-15 October in London, with a strong focus on cash’s evolving role in a digital-first world.

Events

Guillaume Lepecq

24 Aug. 2025

6 min read

Euro Area: the Surprising Use of Cash by Young Adults

Despite predictions of a cashless society, cash remains vital across all age groups. New ECB research reveals older adults prefer cash for transactions, but young adults pay with cash at roughly the average rate and keep cash reserves. The perceived importance of cash is rising for all!

Cash Usage

John Winchcombe

24 Aug. 2025

5 min read

Payment News

A new Japanese survey has found that the most common method for cashless payments is to use a barcode or QR code displayed on a smartphone, with 84.2% of people using one.

Payments

John Winchcombe

24 Aug. 2025

5 min read

CBDC News

The Central Bank of Brazil wants to deliver a CBDC, the Drex, in 2026.

CBDC

John Winchcombe

24 Aug. 2025

3 min read

A Tale of Two Projects

Central banks are exploring ways to make cross-border wholesale payments faster and cheaper using new technologies such as tokenisation. A recent Financial Times article lays out the options.

CBDC

John Winchcombe

24 Aug. 2025

6 min read

Have UK Payments Reached ‘Peak Digital’?

David Fagleman from Enryo, a financial services consultancy1, published an article in Finextra about a surprising shift in the UK payment landscape, a digital slowdown2. A number of countries have reported a stabilisation in cash usage, the most recent being Canada in its 2024 Methods of Payment Survey3, suggesting that there is a ‘bottom’ for cash usage.

Cash in Circulation Future of Cash

John Winchcombe

24 Aug. 2025

2 min read

Sand Dollar Action at the CB+DC Conference

The CB+DC Conference 2025 will take place from 9-11 September in the Bahamas. Unsurprisingly, the Central Bank of the Bahamas, with the world’s first circulating CBDC, the Sand Dollar, is playing a key role in the conference. It is also celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Events

John Winchcombe

24 Aug. 2025

5 min read

News in Brief

European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board Member Piero Cipollone has confirmed in a speech the ECB’s view that euro cash will remain essential alongside a digital euro, emphasising its role as a stable medium of exchange and store of value.

News

John Winchcombe

24 Aug. 2025

5 min read

The Fragility of Cash Resilience

Matt Sykes of the CPT Group in Australia, global experts in cash, payments and money systems, has written a review about whether cash can deliver on its role providing critical redundancy for national payment systems. They want to start a debate about whether the infrastructure that supports cash distribution deliver on this promise given the acute and growing strain it is under. Does a misalignment between policy assumptions and market realities risk rendering cash ineffective as a payment option in a crisis?

Free Future of Cash Resilience Free

John Winchcombe

24 Aug. 2025

4 min read

Building Resilience Through Efficiency: Rethinking Cash Centre Operations

At G+D’s Currency Technology Symposium in July, one of the discussions centred on how efficiency can be leveraged to build resilience across a wide range of scenarios. Managing the steady state is relatively straightforward with its predictable workflow, regular cash processing volumes within expected parameters, reliable supply chains, sufficient staff etc.

Cash Management

John Winchcombe

24 Aug. 2025

1 min read

Cash Services as a Strategic Channel

Fifth Third Bank are the sixth-largest commercial payments provider in the US by revenue, and they spoke at G+D’s Currency Technology Symposium in July. They have just announced that they are buying DTS Connex, which provides cash management software for multi-location businesses such as retailers, restaurants and healthcare providers.

Cash Management Commercial Banks

Latest News

News in Brief

Sustainability Past the ‘Hype Cycle’

Observations on a Year of Payments

Cash Payment Habits and Infrastructure for Resilience

Switzerland: Cash to be Enshrined in the Constitution

Cash Initiatives Around the World

UK Cash Down But Not Out

Brazil Loses $148 Million To Hackers in Less Than Three Hours

The Psychology Behind Money Hoarding

ATMIA Summit to Focus on Cash in Digital-First World

Euro Area: the Surprising Use of Cash by Young Adults

Payment News

CBDC News

A Tale of Two Projects

Have UK Payments Reached ‘Peak Digital’?

Sand Dollar Action at the CB+DC Conference

News in Brief

The Fragility of Cash Resilience

Building Resilience Through Efficiency: Rethinking Cash Centre Operations

Cash Services as a Strategic Channel

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