The Federal Reserve Board of Governors has confirmed the order for banknotes for 2024, which will be in the range of 5.3-6.9 billion notes, valued at $180.5-204.4 billion.

The Bundesbank (BBk) has established a National Cash Forum to allow cash cycle stakeholders to exchange information on cash issues. The BBk wants the Forum to increase cooperation and pool interests for stakeholders in order to prepare initiatives to improve and stabilise the cash cycle. In itself, the creation of the Forum signals that the BBk and stakeholders support cash.

Last November, the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) issued a commemorative 10,000 tenge banknote to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the national currency, followed in December by the issue of the first banknote in a new note series, the 5,000 tenge.

Demonetisation has had something of a bad press in recent years, the disruption caused by the removal of the 500 and 1,000 rupees in India of 2016 and, more recently, Nigeria’s naira redesign being cases in point.

In this, the latest in our monthly summary of central bank annual reports, we look at Thailand, India, Peru, Tunisia, Timor-Leste, Ukraine and Hong Kong.

In its annual report for 2022-23, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has provided details of the financial performance of its minting and banknote printing subsidiaries South African Mint (SAM) and South African Bank Note (SABN).

In a continuation of our new series in Currency News providing a summary of the latest central bank annual reports to be released, this month is the turn of the Bahamas, Canada, Jamaica, Mauritius, Nepal and the UAE.

In the start of a new series in Currency News, we will be providing a summary of each month of central bank annual reports, and in particular developments regarding cash – be it circulation, management or counterfeiting.

Hungary is the latest country to intervene in the cash cycle to ensure ongoing access to cash for its citizens in light of declining usage, with a new regulation from Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) governing minimum requirements for the number of ATMs operated by commercial banks.

The Central Bank of The Bahamas was awarded the 2023 Public First Award during the event’s Appreciation Dinner on 14 March, in a ceremony at the Xara Lodge, Rabat, Malta.