Cash is a public good

Gisèle Pélicot, is a French woman who endured years of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband. While her ordeal primarily involved severe physical and psychological abuse, her story underscores the broader context of dependency and control that often includes financial abuse

Two policy shifts - mandated cash acceptance and regional bank branch levies - if adopted, could steer the cash ecosystem towards more sustainability.

A new paper analyzes the role of a well-functioning cash infrastructure for the stabilizing role of cash and the resilience of cash cycles. It highlights the critical role of the 4 A's - access, availability, acceptance, and affordability - as crucial building blocks of a robust cash infrastructure.

As the number of ATMs has significantly decreased in recent years, SIX and Diebold Nixdorf are entering into a cooperation to secure the long-term cash supply through ATM pooling. However, the Swiss Post also aims to be the sole ATM operator.

CashEssentials will be hosting a seminar on the Future of Cash at the ATMIA Europe and Emerging Markets Conference in London on 10 October 2024. It will focus on understanding the changing cash environment and what stakeholders are doing to optimise the cash cycle and ensure the future viability and sustainability of cash.

A new opinion poll by Ifop for the Monnaie de Paris shows that cash remains the most trusted means of payment and that the level of attachment to cash is strengthening.

The media often overlooks the downsides of digital money services. A powerful narrative that exaggerates the benefits and conceals the downsides supports the growth of fintech in Africa.

While the use of cash has declined in Australia, many still rely on cash for payments, including seniors, lower-income households, migrants, and rural inhabitants.

The Cash Payments Act aims to keep cash accessible, available, and affordable in the Netherlands by mandating banks to provide essential cash services and securing continuity in cash transportation services.

Australia’s cash infrastructure has contracted sharply in recent years. Banks and retailers have reduced cash services, even in urban areas.

The end of the "cash era", announced by The Economist fifteen years ago, has not arrived. On the contrary, in a contactless but crisis-ridden world, cash is leaving wallets and taking refuge in mattresses.