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Irish NGO Goal analyses ‘multi-purpose cash and voucher assistance’ and concludes that cash is more flexible, more resilient, and more cost-effective than other forms of financial support.

Deutsche Bank Research forecasts that not only will cash be around for a long time but the digitalisation of payments has the potential to rebalance global economic power.

In Singapore, currency in circulation has grown by 9.5%, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Food merchants prefer cash, despite the official endorsement of digital payments. Several CashTech solutions accommodate Singaporeans’ preference for cash.

The ATM networks of Bangladesh and India have expanded during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. In Bangladesh, ATM transactions increased in 2020; in India, currency holdings in the public’s hands grew 17.4% during the pandemic.

Millions of dollars in aid to Lebanon are being lost in currency exchange as inflation soars out of control, but internal UN documents and interviews with officials suggest that fixing the problem faces political and logistical hurdles, and could even spark violence.

A new ECB report concludes that the exceptional demand for banknotes during the pandemic is driven by an increase in precautionary holdings in times of uncertainty as well as by international demand, a phenomenon known as the cash paradox.

The U.K. government has endorsed the accelerated adoption of contactless payments during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite risks of fraud and contradicting its plans to ensure people have access to cash.

As the Covid-19 pandemic further reduces the U.K.’s ATM network, several pilots are underway to protect access to cash for consumers and small businesses.

Political exploitation, discrimination, financial exclusion and post-disaster resilience were some of the key concerns explored in a thought leadership webinar held on 18th March to discuss the implications for society of shifting to a cashless economy.

Sweden, once the poster child of a society without cash, is increasing the number of cash centres and ATMs to ensure access to cash for all.

Restaurant and bar workers in Spain have long relied on cash tips to complement their wages. The acceleration of digital payments during the pandemic threatens their economic livelihoods. #Cashtipsonly.

Saying there might be a problem with humanitarian cash transfers is like saying that you don’t think Baby Yoda is that cute... The problem is not with cash transfers per se, but with the financial technology we rely on to implement those transfers, and which makes possible and monetises surveillance on a scale never seen before.