Central Banks and Cash Round-Up

In this periodic series of articles covering cash information in central bank annual reports, we turn our attention this month to England, Iceland, Kazakhstan and Switzerland.

Bank of England (BOE)

Cash in circulation: banknotes in circulation increased to £87 billion as of the end of February 2024 (2023: £85. billion). The introduction of banknotes featuring King Charles III (£5, £10, £20 and £50) was also announced (which entered circulation this June).

Issue and destruction: 119 million unfit notes were returned for destruction, just over 50% of which were the old paper notes.

The cost of banknote production was £36 million (2023: £28 million) and a further £31 million (2023: £26 million) was spent on issue and custody.

Sustainability: the Bank’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions in banknote production resulted in a 22% decrease from the previous year, reflecting the impact of lower production volumes.

Awareness: the BOE’s education and museum programs have continued to thrive, focusing on financial literacy with significant outreach to schools and the public through various events and exhibitions. Under the Bank Ambassador volunteer programme last year, volunteers visited 411 schools across the UK, delivering banknote handling sessions in primary schools, exploring security features and the historical figures in the notes.