Payments competition

The Italia Cashless initiative offers shoppers refunds on purchases made by cards as part on an ongoing campaign to discourage tax evasion. The ECB has complained that the programme is disproportionate and undermines the neutral approach to payments. It also creates a distortion within the European internal market.

With digital payments thriving in China, so is payment-related crime. The authorities are punishing offenders by banning them from using mobile and card payments and stranding them in a cash-only world.

The pandemic has boosted revenue for many players in the digital economy. But both Visa and MasterCard have seen their revenue decline during the pandemic.

China’s antitrust agency is looking at whether to launch a probe into Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay, prompted by the central bank which argues the digital payment giants have used their dominant positions to quash competition.

US consumers like having the freedom to choose their preferred payment method, which also includes cash. Retailers should therefore be careful not to assume that the cashless attitude has been adopted by all.

Contrary to what is said, the push for cashlessness in Sweden is not "natural" and not demanded by consumers. There is a lot to gain from a cashless society for players of the payments landscape.

Cash allows users to track their spending real-time but it also frees merchants from unnecessary interchange fees.

With over 80% of people-to-people transactions carried out in cash in the US, the tooth fairy has little time to sit around.

Visa US. is taking the war on cash to the next level. In a new initiative to encourage businesses to go cashless, Visa will be awarding up to $500,000 to 50 eligible small business food service owners who commit to stop accepting cash.

Yves Mersch, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB highlights the risks associated with a cashless society.

India's postal department is innovating its services and will now provide home delivery of cash and increase access to services to the disabled or people in rural areas.

The overall shift towards digital money is slow and patchy. More importantly, it is widening the monetary divide between those who have access to an increasing range of digital forms money and those who remain financially excluded.