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

This month we highlight a number of challenging areas for digital payments, rising card fees in the US and Germany, research that suggests people select banks based on branch proximity and that the pain of paying leads people to spend more and make unwise choices.

The Mint of Finland, the leading exporter of coins and blanks with 99% of sales coming from overseas customers (up from 93% in 2019), reported near-flat consolidated revenue of €57.2 million in 2020, and an operating loss of €5.1 million (versus €1.4 million the previous year).

Louisenthal has added a new security thread to its portfolio based on its RollingStar® technology, which combines two security technologies – ColourShift for colour changes and micro-mirrors for dynamic effects arranged according to highly complex algorithms. For the new thread, RollingStar® i+, the two technologies have, through intensive research and in conjunction with magnetics for machine-read, been elevated to a new level.

The Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia, Mikhail Alekseev, has provided local media with more details of the new Russian series, which will start going into circulation with the new 100 rubles in 2022. It will be followed by the 1,000 and 5,000 rubles in 2023, the 500 rubles in 2024 and 10 and 50 rubles in 2025. The 200 and 2,000 rubles, both introduced in 2017, will not be included in the new series.

The Qatar Central Bank formally launched its 5th Series of banknotes on Qatar National Day, 18 December 2020, replacing the 4th Series that was issued in 2003. The Qatar Central Bank wished to modernise the banknotes and to incorporate the latest security features. The new series, designed by De La Rue in close co-operation with the Qatar Central Bank, has achieved this whilst maintaining a thematic link to previous designs.

COVID19 led to a decline in the number of counterfeit banknotes in 2020. Or did it?

As is widely recognised, the invention of the ATM has been one of the single most significant developments in the history of money – providing it with the core attributes of near-universal availability and convenience that continue to this day.

In December 2020, the global cash community joined forces in an initiative called HUMANIA to support people who have been most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Whilst the focus on cash is generally concentrated on substrates and features, production and circulation, the end of life is also key as regards the secure, clean and efficient disposal of both waste and notes no longer fit for circulation.

It was only a matter of time! One of the claimed benefits of polymer is that it is more resistant to counterfeiting and hence more secure, and the figures bear that out.

Reconnaissance International, organisers of the Optical Document Security™ and Digital Document Security™ conferences, have announced that these are to be combined into one new ‘super-event’ for physical, digital and virtual documents – Optical & Digital Document Security™ – which will take place in-person in Vienna from 17-19 January 2022.

The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) has announced its financial results for 2020. Overall, sales were boosted by 74% due to booming demand for gold bullion products. However, the increased revenue was matched by increased costs, so did not result in a corresponding increase in profit. Instead, profits were lower by 35% due to lower revenues from other parts of the business, among them circulating coins.

De La Rue’s results for 2020-21 were not expected to be easy to understand or compare with the previous year(s) due to all the changes that took place, continued this last year and will continue, albeit to a much lesser extent this coming financial year. However, the main takeaway is that the company is alive and well and positive about its future.

Swedish cash management service provider Loomis has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire certain assets and liabilities of SecurePost AG, a subsidiary of Die Schweizerische Post (Swiss Post Group).

There is much talk and activity around Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) at the moment, particularly retail CBDCs. As one reads the papers and listens to the frequent webinars about them, it is striking that there is a requirement for CBDCs to replicate the performance of cash. And that is clearly proving a challenge.

Despite the increase in production at the US Mint, coins for general circulation are still struggling to keep pace with public demand, forcing the Federal Reserve to again limit orders from its customers, especially for dimes and quarter dollars. It is monitoring its inventories to determine whether order limits will be extended to cents and 5 cent coins as well.

Following the success of the Future of Cash online event in February 2021, the organisers – AGIS Consulting and CashEssentials – are continuing the conversation and providing a coherent story of today’s cash challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities.

CCL Secure has unveiled SPARTAN™ – an ‘ultra-durable’ new polymer substrate that has been designed specifically to provide a new option for central banks and issuing authorities who have low denomination, high transaction velocity denominations that sit on the cusp of the note/coin boundary.

The MDC has announced the new dates and locations for the Mint Directors Conference.