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The number of counterfeit euro banknotes withdrawn from circulation in 2020, has dropped by 17.7% in a year and has reached a historically low level in proportion to banknotes in circulation.

The European Central Bank (ECB) concluded its public consultation on the digital euro last week and received over 8,221 responses, submitted by citizens, firms and industry associations. Payment privacy is the most requested feature for the potential digital euro.

As Bitcoin reaches new records, it is also guzzling epic levels of energy and its environmental footprint is on the rise.

Unilever has announced that it will begin consumer trials of a seaweed-derived compound that the company claims can create self-cleaning surfaces, the applications of which are wide-ranging, and include banknotes.

Economists E. Beretta and D. Neuberger analyse how Covid-19 has boosted commercial incentives and government policies to nudge consumers away from cash. The analysis shows that especially in times of uncertainty, cash cannot be substituted and needs to be safeguarded.

The Swedish government has announced that a special investigation will review the role of the state in the payment market and take position on what the role should look like in the future. The final report is due no later than November 2022.

The Global Cash Community has launched the HUMANIA initiative to support the people in society who have been most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Donating foreign currency is one way to help. Organizations, big and small can set up their own fundraising efforts to support human and economic recovery.

New research published last week by LINK, the UK’s main cash machine network, shows that cash is still the most popular way to get money for Christmas.

The Italia Cashless initiative offers shoppers refunds on purchases made by cards as part on an ongoing campaign to discourage tax evasion. The ECB has complained that the programme is disproportionate and undermines the neutral approach to payments. It also creates a distortion within the European internal market.

A controversial law that would have banned cash payments over $10,000 has been voted out by the Australian Senate. Many saw it as infringing on the freedom to use cash and to protect one’s financial privacy.

The People’s Bank of China tells merchants to accept cash or face sanctions in the wake of a widening digital divide. The rapid transition to digital payments is leaving some behind and creating “gaps of digitalization”.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching consequences on human and economic activities, including on cash, payments and money. For many observers, the pandemic has acted as a catalyst and accelerated existing trends. Five key challenges will shape the future of cash.