News | Cash & Payment News

John Winchcombe

18 May 2021

4 min read

News in Brief

Deutsche Bank has announced that it will close 150 bank and Postbank branches this year and a further 50 Postbank branches next year. The CEO said that customers are coming to branches less often, preferring to use digital products such as remote advisory video sessions. In January Commerzbank announced it would close 340 branches in Germany.

ATMs Bank Branch Cash Management

John Winchcombe

18 May 2021

2 min read

CBDC Conference Update

The Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) conference has now moved wholly online on 4-6 October 2021. Registration is now open.

CBDC Events

John Winchcombe

18 May 2021

2 min read

Changes to CPN, and New Online Platform

After several months of a COVID-enforced digital only publication of Cash & Payment News™, we are happy to announce the resumption of the hard-copy distribution of the newsletter from June. Thank you for your patience during the disruption and we ask for a little more forbearance as delivery services attempt to return to something like their pre-COVID levels.

News

John Winchcombe

18 May 2021

7 min read

Cash in the USA – an Update

Three reports bring insight into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on payments in the US.

Country Profile COVID Surveys

John Winchcombe

18 May 2021

2 min read

The Importance of Trust

Digital is hard. Digital is remote. Money matters and financial matters are not trivial. Are banks sure, therefore, that widespread branch closures are wise?

Bank Branch Digital Payments

John Winchcombe

18 May 2021

5 min read

What is Programmable Money?

The term ‘programmable money’ is increasingly bandied about in articles, but what is it? It is largely considered in the context of B2B transactions. Perhaps a few simplistic examples of how it might work best illustrate why it is becoming a ‘thing’.

Editorial

John Winchcombe

18 May 2021

4 min read

The Challenge of Achieving CBDC Objectives

Finextra has published an article highlighting different visions for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). Jon Cunliffe, Deputy Governor at the Bank of England, made a speech that said it was ‘probable’ that the ‘state will need to issue, public money’.

CBDC

John Winchcombe

18 May 2021

5 min read

Payment News

A recent article in Kenya’s Star newspaper looked at why the informal transport system of ‘matatus’ (privately owned cars or minibuses acting as shared taxis) does not make use of M-Pesa wholeheartedly. It suggests two reasons.

Cards Digital Payments News

John Winchcombe

18 May 2021

5 min read

Latest Work on CBDCs

Central banks making statements about investigating or working on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) this month include Brazil, Georgia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Norway, Pakistan and Russia.

CBDC

John Winchcombe

27 April 2021

5 min read

Central Bank Digital Currency Round-Up

Augustin Carstens, General Manager at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), made a speech at the end of March considering progress with CBDCs. He explained how the simpler payment process with CBDCs reduced risks, costs and time while addressing the weaknesses of today’s payment system - high credit card and cross border payment fees, a lack of universal access to digital payment tools and weak governance frameworks on big tech and other providers’ use of transaction data.

CBDC

John Winchcombe

27 April 2021

2 min read

Digital Financial Inclusion

Financial inclusion is a hot topic as the move to online and mobile banking leads to fewer bank branches. When banks announce closure plans they quote how many customers now interact over the phone, internet or smartphone and the number of people registering new mobile phone apps (in the case of HSBC, 90% and 750,000 respectively in the last 12 months).

Bank Branch Commercial Banks Digital Payments

John Winchcombe

27 April 2021

2 min read

DNB Becomes Net Issuer of Banknotes

A recent article by the Dutch National Bank (DNB) explained that, as a consequence of the pandemic, its intake of banknotes has fallen to the extent that it is now issuing more euro banknotes than it is getting back in, a first since it started issuing them. The number of notes issued fell by 10% in 2020 but the number of notes received fell by more, by 25%.

Cash in Circulation Central Banks COVID

John Winchcombe

27 April 2021

2 min read

2020, Less ATM Crime

The European Association for Secure Transactions (EAST) has issued its 2020 report on ATM crime. EAST collects data from 21 Western European countries operating about 335,000 ATMs, 223,000 unattended payment terminals and 14.5 million point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

ATMs Crime

John Winchcombe

27 April 2021

6 min read

Riksbank Reports on E-krona Pilot Phase 1

With Sweden’s decline in cash usage, Sveriges Riksbank is less involved in the payment system and is, therefore, less able to meet the requirement placed on it to promote a safe and efficient payment system. As a result, the Riksbank is conducting a pilot project to create a token-based Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) known as the e-krona.

CBDC Country Profile Free Free

John Winchcombe

27 April 2021

3 min read

Branch ‘Deserts’ a Myth in the US

The Banking Journal of the American Bankers Association (ABA) published an article ‘The Real Story On Bank Branch Closures’, about the decline in bank branches in the US. It was responding to a story in NPR that painted a picture of bank closures leaving whole communities devoid of bank branches, particularly in lower-income, rural and at-risk communities.

Bank Branch

John Winchcombe

27 April 2021

2 min read

UK CBDC Taskforce Established

The Bank of England and the UK’s Treasury have created a taskforce to coordinate the exploration of a potential UK Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The announcement was at pains to explain that this was not intended to replace cash and bank deposits and that the UK has not made the decision whether or not to introduce a CBDC.

CBDC Country Profile

John Winchcombe

27 April 2021

3 min read

Cash & Payment News Advisory Panel

We are pleased to announce the formation of an Advisory Panel to help determine the direction and development of Cash & Payment News™. The following have kindly agreed to participate in this panel.

News

John Winchcombe

27 April 2021

4 min read

Payment News

As part of its National Payment System, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is considering a new domestic card and payment system and has issued a consultation paper.

Digital Payments News

John Winchcombe

27 April 2021

2 min read

Impact of the Pandemic on Cash in Italy

ADAM, which produces cash management software solutions, has written a series of blogs during the pandemic recording what has happened to cash in Italy in the last year. Its latest report updates the series through until December 2020, drawing some initial conclusions.

Cash Usage COVID

John Winchcombe

27 April 2021

5 min read

News in Brief

One of the parts of the cash cycle most affected by the pandemic has been coins. The normal flow has been seriously disrupted as people have switched to card payments or have rounded cash payments to use notes in preference to coins. In February 2020 there were almost £3 million worth of 2p coins held in wholesale cash centres, but demand has continued to outstrip supply almost every week, and in the past twelve months over £2.2 million in new 2p coins have been issued into circulation but never returned. Where are they all and why aren’t the pennies behaving the same?

ATMs Bank Branch Coins

Latest News

News in Brief

CBDC Conference Update

Changes to CPN, and New Online Platform

Cash in the USA – an Update

The Importance of Trust

What is Programmable Money?

The Challenge of Achieving CBDC Objectives

Payment News

Latest Work on CBDCs

Central Bank Digital Currency Round-Up

Digital Financial Inclusion

DNB Becomes Net Issuer of Banknotes

2020, Less ATM Crime

Riksbank Reports on E-krona Pilot Phase 1

Branch ‘Deserts’ a Myth in the US

UK CBDC Taskforce Established

Cash & Payment News Advisory Panel

Payment News

Impact of the Pandemic on Cash in Italy

News in Brief

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