Cash and Crises

Recent research led by the Norwegian Refugee Council on how ATMs are used by Syrian refugees in the Lebanon once again demonstrates that ATMs play a crucial role in disaster response.

Riots resulted in the destruction of bank branches and ATMs and the suspension of banking and cash management operations in South Africa. However, industry stakeholders secured business continuity in the provision and circulation of cash.

Cash in circulation grew markedly during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. The country’s central bank implemented several measures to protect the cash supply chain in times of unprecedented economic dislocation.

Myanmar (Burma) is facing a severe cash shortage as the central bank is not providing sufficient cash to meet demand. Queues are growing at ATMs and bank branches, raising fears of a banking crisis.

In 2020, many headlines were predicting the end of cash, amidst a sharp decline in cash transactions. A year later, many recognise that cash plays an essential social and economic role and is an anchor to the monetary and financial system.

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.

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.

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.

We have succumbed to the inevitability of digitalisation and the associated monetisation of money, the cynical conversion of the public good called cash into its privatised digital equivalent. In the process, we are losing the social utility of cash.

This webinar was the fifth in a series by CashEssentials exploring key trends shaping the future of cash. This was the first to focus specifically on ‘cash & crises’. Cash industry experts and international aid practitioners debates some of the advantages and disadvantages of digital cash assistance in the context of financial inclusion for societies in crisis.

This webinar is the fifth in a series by CashEssentials exploring key trends shaping the future of cash. This is the first to focus specifically on ‘cash & crises’. Over the course of sixty minutes, cash industry experts and international aid practitioners will debate some of the advantages and disadvantages of digital cash assistance in the context of financial inclusion for societies in crisis.