The Realities of Managing Cash at Volume

An excellent session at the Global Currency Forum saw Joash Rono (Central Bank of Kenya), Alberto Torfer (Bank of Mexico), Anwar Bashori (Bank Indonesia – BI), Firat Emre Karakas (Central Bank of Türkiye – CBRT) and Faisal I Algosar (Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority) give the perspective of some high volume economies, a very different set of priorities from other presentations.

Kenya: In Kenya a mix of GDP and population growth, along with inflation are driving cash in circulation growth. With 38 commercial banks, 90,000 bank agents and 2,300 ATMs, Kenyans enjoy good access to cash. 84.8% of the population have access to a bank account either directly or through their mobile money account. Part of this is Kenya’s vibrant fintech and mobile money sector with M-PESA, and Airtel, highly visible and active. Mobile payments are cash backed with the value held in trust in bank accounts.