We are all familiar with the earnest reasons for using cash. But what other benefits are there?

The Bank of Estonia’s supervisory board has chosen the current Deputy Governor Ülo Kaasik as its candidate for the next Governor. He has served as Deputy Governor since 2011 and will replace Madis Müller, whose term ends in June 2026.

In so much as company results provide a bellwether for the state of the industry as a whole, our industry appears to be in good health judging by the half year results of some of the publicly-listed market leaders, which were – for the most part – gratifyingly positive.

Swiss lawmakers have unanimously voted to enshrine the right to use cash in the nation’s constitution.

The focus for this month’s summary of news from central bank annual reports for 2024 and other sources is Asia, with information from Cambodia, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and Thailand.

On 3 July 2024, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) began issuing its new series of banknotes, including the ¥10,000, ¥5,000, and ¥1,000 denominations, marking the first currency redesign in two decades. Almost a year later, as of the end of June 2025, c. 5 billion of the new banknotes had been issued, accounting for about 30% of the total volume of notes in circulation.

This March, the Caribbean guilder – the new currency for the people of the Caribbean islands of Curaçao and Sint Maarten – went into circulation, a good 15 years after the issuer of its predecessor – the Netherlands Antillean guilder – ceased to exist. A number of factors meant that, ultimately, the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) was left with little choice but to introduce a new currency. But its introduction was not without its challenges – not least because the people of the two islands were largely indifferent.

In a continuation of the coverage in Currency News of some of the most ground-breaking houses note produced in recent months, the latest example is the SPARTAN™ Galapagos House Note from CCL Secure.

This series of periodic global updates, which started in 2017, have mainly focused on the development of the growth rates of the value and volume of banknotes in circulation. Furthermore, they have addressed some interesting phenomena around banknote demand. This latest update will follow this customary agenda.

Earlier this year, as part of a package of sweeping cuts under the DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) initiative to eliminate waste, President Trump directed the US Treasury Secretary to cease production of the country’s lowest denomination coin (each of which costs 3.7 times its face value to produce), reigniting a decade-long debate about the future of the coin (see CN February 2025).

Reconnaissance, co-publishers of Currency News and organisers of the High Security Printing™ (HSP) conferences, have announced the full programme for the upcoming HSP Asia 2025, taking place from 1–3 December 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Bank Negara Malaysia Museum and Art Gallery (BNMMAG) has six distinctive galleries – the Children’s Gallery, Bank Negara Malaysia Gallery, Economics Gallery, Islamic Finance Gallery, Numismatics Gallery, and Art Gallery – and is designed to bring Malaysia’s economic journey to life while celebrating the central bank’s role in nation-building and its commitment to numismatics and support for the arts.

The world’s leaders in currency design, minting, and secure printing will gather in Istanbul from 10-14 November for Mint and Print 2025 (MAP 2025),. The four-day event will bring together central banks, mints, security printers, and technology providers to explore the innovations reshaping the future of physical currency.

A once-in-a-lifetime event commemorating the 60th anniversary of Ghana’s national currency is just weeks away. To be held from 17–20 November and hosted by the Bank of Ghana (BOG) in partnership with Currency Research, the Cedi@60 Anniversary Currency Conference is a cornerstone of a national months-long celebration — ‘Cedi@60: A Symbol of Sovereignty, Stability, and Economic Resilience’ — which formally launched on 28 October.

As digital payments grow and cash usage at the point of sale declines, the individual cash cycle stakeholders are all facing certain challenges brought about by these changes that could risk their ability to continue to function – UNLESS we can understand their challenges, identify the risks, mitigate the risks and make changes not only to adapt to this new environment – but make changes to avoid future events and failures.

Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB) has provided more details of its new banknote series in denominations of BND1, BND5, BND10, BND100 and BND500, which are scheduled to enter circulation in the first half of 2026.

Traditionally, banknotes have served as children’s first tangible interaction with money, helping them develop essential numeracy and financial skills. Recent research underscores that physical cash provides a more concrete understanding of money for young people compared to digital payments, making it a powerful medium for teaching core concepts like earning, spending, saving, borrowing, and budgeting.

In her Chief Executive’s Report for 2024-25, the Royal Mint’s Anne Jessopp reported an after-tax loss of £36.3 million, compared with a loss of £4.3 million in 2023-24, on sales of £1.3 billion (2023- 24 – £1.4 billion). In something of an understatement, she noted it had been a challenging year and the result disappointing.

Dr Eyob Tekalign Tolina, State Minister at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance, has been named the new Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia. He replaces Mamo Mihretu.

The focus for this month’s summary of news from central bank annual reports and other sources is Central and South America, specifically Belize, Brazil and Honduras.