Cash does not require a technology infrastructure

Bitcoin became legal tender in El Salvador in September 2021. Since then, its volatility has worsened the country's precarious financial situation.

Consumer research shows that cash payments are firmly rooted in French society. Cash is an enabler of social connections and is the preferred form of payment at small shops and for charity.

The idea of digitising money has re-emerged every ten years since the 1990s, starting with e-money, followed by digital money and now central bank digital currencies. But digital payments do not require digital money, says Aleksi Grym.

Elsewhere on the Web provides weekly updates and links to articles related to cash and money, curated on the web. Last week, the focus was on how the Ukraine war triggered a run on cash in neighbouring countries.

Digital payments surpassed cash in Russia in 2018, and the central bank promoted them during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mobile and card payments operate with glitches since Western countries imposed sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainians’ demand for cash has spiked during the Russian invasion. The National Bank of Ukraine moved to secure the cash supply and encouraged civilians to make cashless payments.

Hackers have long exploited computer vulnerabilities to rob banks remotely. These cybercrimes entail severe risks to banking systems worldwide.

Tensions between Russia and the West raise the likelihood that Russian-sponsored cyber attacks cripple Ukraine's computer systems, including payment networks.

With the acquisition of Tidel and Gunnebo’s cash processing business, newly-formed Sesami Cash Management Technologies aims to offer integrated and automated cash management solutions.

The Facebook-led Diem Association is selling its assets putting an end to the social media’s controversial ambitions in digital money and payments, and a two-and-a-half-year battle with regulators and central banks across the globe.

After Hurricane Ida’s landfall on the coast of Louisiana, cash remained the most reliable payment instrument during disaster and relief recovery efforts.

Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana in August, 16 years after Katrina. The financial and electronic payments infrastructure shut down due to power outages, leaving cash as the only functioning payment instrument.