Cash is a contingency and fall-back solution

Last Friday, an internet outage disrupted debit card payments and banking services in Canada. Shops put up “Cash Only” signs, and many retailers lost sales revenue.

A groundbreaking EU Council Recommendation calls on member states to allow displaced persons from Ukraine to convert up to 10,000 Hryvnias per person, without charge, at the official exchange rate published by the National Bank of Ukraine.

Twenty-three Dutch organisations closely involved in the payments system signed a new Cash Covenant this week. The agreement seeks to ensure that cash continues to function properly as a payment instrument in the face of a steady increase in electronic payments.

Cash Talks is a series of webinars debating critical trends and issues in the cash space. The second Cash Talk focused on the issues arising from the parallel circulation of cash and Central Bank Digital Currencies.

Torrential rains have wreaked havoc across the eastern coast of Australia. Cash management companies, ATM deployers, and banks mobilised to ensure access to cash in flood-hit areas.

Demand for foreign and domestic cash spiked in Russia after Western nations announced financial sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine. Massive cash withdrawals and runs on savings could trigger a banking panic and cause a financial meltdown.

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.

Cash remains the most widely used payment instrument in Ukraine. The country's central bank has promoted cashless payments during the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion, despite their vulnerabilities in times of crisis.

Currency in circulation in Ukraine grew 31.4% in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic. Cash withdrawals increased in 2021, alongside Russia's military buildup. A recent cyberattack spread fake rumors about ATM malfunctions.

The role cash plays in society is viewed very differently in a Lebanese refugee camp than in a London coffee-shop. Despite the inroads made by a policy of digital ‘financial inclusion’, at least half the world’s adult population have little option but to rely on cash for their survival in times of crisis.

Economic sanctions and a shortage of cash delay and impede urgently-needed humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. Millions face hunger and death this winter.

Four months after the Taliban took over Kabul, the Afghan banking system is on the brink of collapse. Afghanistan direly needs physical cash to jumpstart its imploding economy.