The Role of Circulating Coins in the Future Cash Cycle

by Marie Lemay

• Key learnings and takeaways from the 2023 Mint Directors Conference (MDC) workshop on the Future of circulation coinage in a digital world
• Futures Mapping of circulating coins in a payment ecosystem disrupted by digital technologies

Cash of the Future

by Katrina Brendle & Kerstin Lorek

Euro banknotes are an anchor of stability and confidence, both in everyday life as well as in many crises. The demand for cash is still growing and banknotes and coins are very popular means of payment at the point of sale in Germany. In order to improve the resilience of the cash cycle further, the Bundesbank is exploring new paths in thinking about cash of the future. In a highly volatile and fast changing world, as we face it today, it might not be enough to analyse current conditions and developments – we also have to think about the major impact factors shaping the future path of cash in the next 15 to 20 years. One of these factors, a megatrend that has already changed and surely will change our daily life is digitalisation. It has an impact not only in form of technical innovations, but also direct or indirect impact on everyday objects like cash and in the behaviour of citizens. Usually, we focus on such technical developments in the banknote industry, but there are other important impact factors. In comparison to the past, the citizens of today have the choice for a certain means of payment. To ensure that this choice is still possible in the future, it is important to have a resilient and efficient cash cycle. A first step is to understand future reasons why citizens decide for a certain means of payment and how cash and the cash cycle can meet the needs. Using the scenario technique, we imagine how the cash of the future and the future cash cycle might look like in 15 to 20 years: What kind of properties does cash need to be attractive for the users and what can we do in the present time to achieve this goal?

Katrina Brendle

Katrina Brendle is a senior expert in the field of banknotes and a chemist by training. She works in the Deutsche Bundesbank‘s Cash Department and is mainly responsible there for the banknote development. Katrina joined Deutsche Bundesbank directly after her PhD in Physical Chemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in 2019. The main topics of the research and development activities of Katrina are new security features for banknotes, a higher sustainability of banknotes and the cash of the future.

The Multibank Cash Services Management Model

by Levent Kocabıyık

As cash continues to survive attacks from different fronts, the search for efficiency is a major topic in cash logistics. On the banking front, increasing costs, decreasing revenues and profitability, and technological developments force banks to make changes in their way of doing business to stay competitive in the market. Collaboration of banks is a strong option for minimizing the cost of cash. A viable and proven option for commercial banks is to form joint ventures to optimize their cash logistics operations.
In this unique interbank cooperation model which was developed under a consultancy project, we propose a special joint subsidiary for a group of banks that will manage the cash logistics of members in such a way as to minimize the costs and increase service quality for all. The scenario involves multiple banks, multiple cash handers operating in multiple regions in a certain country. Idle cash for banks is a primary concern due to high inflation and overnight rates, and therefore banks want to join their cash stocks and borrow from one another, minimizing idle cash and eliminating costly and tardy Central Bank deposit / withdrawal operations. This joint, yet independent subsidiary manages cash stocks of each banks in such a way that a surplus of a member bank is used to cover the deficit of another. The cash stocks are physically kept and moved by cash handlers; handlers however act in line with orders from this joint subsidiary in an online fashion via sophisticated software. In closing the day, there is automated clearing & settlement, as well as a planning for sufficient cash stocks to support next day’s operations.

Levent Kocabıyık

Mr. Kocabiyik joined the company (BANTAS) in 2012. Prior to his current position, he has been at various departments in managerial roles. Until his retirement from public service in 2012, he was the Head of the IT Department in the Turkish Naval Forces. Mr.Kocabiyik earned his Bachelor’s degrees in International Relations from the Turkish Naval Academy (1985), and in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan (1991); Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan (1992), and in Business Information Management from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (2005) in Belgium. He was born in Turkey, and resides in Ankara.

Cash System Redesign in the Netherlands

by Roel van Anholt

• The Dutch cash cycle is under increasing pressure due to reduced usage, shrinking ATM numbers and increasing fees.
• After many years of studies and voluntary agreements with banks and other stakeholders, legislation seems inevitable.
• Several models to design and fund the cash market have been analyzed, with interesting results.
• The legislation includes not only an obligation to maintain a cash infrastructure, but it also comprises the offering of cash services, fee limitations and continuity CiT services.