News in Brief

Sweden Boosts Cash Handling Capacity

Despite Sweden being in the vanguard of the cashless movement, its central bank – Sveriges Riksbank – is opening new offices to handle notes and coins.

According to the Riksbank, it is opening two new locations for cash handling in addition to the existing cash centre in Märsta, north of Stockholm. One will be located further north in Falun, and the other to the south west in Jönköping.

This is in spite of the fact that the value of cash in circulation almost halved between 2007 and 2018, and that, during the pandemic, Sweden’s cash usage has dropped to its lowest level ever, with COVID-19 accelerating the shift toward digital payments. In 2020, less than 1 in 10 of all payments were made in cash.

Besides the cash centres, new ATMs will also be installed in 2021. Bankomat, the leading ATM deployer in Sweden, jointly owned by the five largest banks, has announced the deployment of new ATMs in 17 locations – seven of which will be upgrades and 10 will be new installations in towns which don’t currently have an ATM. The number of ATMs has fallen by 30% since 2010, from 3,566 units to 2,508 units in 2019.

A new law – officially named the Obligation for Certain Credit Institutions to Provide Cash – came into effect on 1 January requiring the large banks to provide an adequate level of cash services.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance is appointing a special investigator to review the role of the state in the payments market, including cash, reporting back in late 2022.

Ireland Strengthens Anti-Counterfeiting Law

The European Central Bank (ECB) has welcomed a draft law that aims to strengthen the Central Bank of Ireland’s powers to act against currency counterfeiting.

The Counterfeiting Bill 2020 sets out to align the Irish legal framework on counterfeiting with four pieces of European Union legislation in the area. The ECB has stated, in a legal opinion, that the draft law will put ‘a comprehensive set of functions and instruments’ at the disposal of the Bank.

The law covers both counterfeit banknote and coins, along with measures to ensure the appropriate authentication of euro coins and notes.

The measure will ensure’ the preservation of euro banknotes and coins in circulation, resulting in continued public confidence in the euro’, the ECB said.

ATMIA Launches New Cash Portal

The ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) has launched the Cash Hub – a new portal with information about pro-cash initiatives and trends, as well as stories from members about cash during and beyond the pandemic, as a resource for the industry.

The Cash Hub will provide information about where cash access is being threatened, cash trends, statistics, infographics, news articles, videos, Cash Council meeting information and additional resources, designed to help ATM and cash businesses stay up to date.

‘Across the globe cash remains the most widely used and popular form of payment,’ said David Tente, ATMIA Executive Director for the US, Canada and Latin America. ‘It is our on-going mission at ATMIA to combat the negative press and help ensure consumers continue to have access to cash as a payment choice.’ Pro-cash news items, including personal stories and experiences, can be submitted to the Cash Hub at www.atmia.com/cash/cashstory/.

BSP Organises for Change

A reorganisation at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will see its cash and payment departments combined.

According to BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, the newly-created Payments and Currency Management Sector (PCMS) will be ‘responsible for maintaining the safety and integrity of the Philippine currency and ensure a well-functioning payment and cash ecosystem that supports [long-term] economic growth’.

The cash department is responsible for printing banknotes and minting coins, refining gold, managing currency retirement, along with the production of national ID cards and anti-counterfeiting operations. The payments department licences and supervises payment system operations and administers digital personal equity retirement accounts. It is also managing the BSP’s ‘Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap for 2020 to 2023’, which aims to achieve an efficient, safe and inclusive payments ecosystem.

PCMS will comprise three functional units – Currency and Securities Production, Payments and Currency Development, and Payments and Currency Management Operations. It is headed by new Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan, who BSP says has brought with him more than 28 years of experience in digital and traditional financial services, including the last six years managing the E-PISO project to move the Philippines from cash to digital payments.

Award for Crane in Malta

Crane Currency Malta has won the Best Manufacturing Company of the Year award as part of the 2020 Malta Best-in-Business Awards programme, which is open to any company from any industry operating in Malta, or from abroad, but which is based in Malta.

The award was made to Crane Currency for setting an organisational standard for excellence and outstanding achievement. Its Malta facility is the first commercial banknote printing facility to be built in several decades and marked a historic milestone in the company’s 200+ year history.

RBA Releases Contingency Banknotes to Meet Increased Demand

The value of banknotes in circulation as a proportion of GDP in Australia reached a historic high in the year to February 2021, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which opened its banknote contingency site to ease pressure on the wholesale banknote distribution system.

Banknotes in circulation grew 17.1% over the year to February 2021 to A$97.3 billion, and reached an all-time high of 4.9% as a measurement of GDP.

In its latest Bulletin, the RBA stated that the pandemic has accelerated trends in banknote demand that had already been occurring for many years – namely, the use of physical currency as a means of payment has continued to decline, while demand for cash as a store of wealth has grown. This was supported by the fact that the strong growth was driven by demand for the highest two denominations.

With growth in cash held by the community (outside banks) and bank deposits outpacing deposits, and logistical challenges faced by commercial banks in moving cash around the country, the RBA stepped in to ease pressure on the wholesale banknote distribution system by opening its banknote contingency site to help the banks replenish stocks.