People need to wake up to the implications of the disappearance of cash as society faces the โdangersโ of a cashless world, say the organisers behind the โFuture of Cashโ conference.
The event in Athens will see central bankers and decision makers from financial institutions, currency producers and cash management companies, gather on February 20 and 21, to discuss cash usage and what profitable measures can be adopted to secure its future.
In much of the world cash usage continues to grow alongside the growth in alternative payment methods, the event organisers point out. The 15th โFuture of Cashโ conference will draw on examples and case studies of cash models and optimisation. A panel discussion will consider the implications for cash for society and cash stakeholders.
In particular, the event will seek practical steps to maintain cash usage, particularly reducing the cost of cash in circulation for society and cash users. These include the adoption of new technologies and processes, such as the hastening of new networks of โpublic utilityโ ATMs which can benefit wider society as the banks look to pool their infrastructures in an effort to curb the cost of cash in circulation.
As for the role of retailers the event will ask how they can provide accessible services through โsmart tillsโ as banks continue to trim the footprint of their branches.
The sense that cashโs position is changing and that this will only continue to accelerate, has never been stronger, said John Winchcombe, conference chair and organiser.
John, pictured, says: โCash offers choice, freedom and financial inclusion for billions of people around the world. But equally the future is rapidly evolving, and so the issues require extensive debate and examination.โ
A 2018 report, published last month by the Access to Cash Review in the UK – one of the countries in the so-called vanguard of cashless payments – found that around one in six people continue to regard cash as a necessity. The deputy governor of the Bank of England and Nicky Morgan, chair of the UK Governmentโs Treasury Committee, have also added their support to cash, saying that it remains important, and that it will continue to do so well into the future as a convenient way to make payments.
In this context John Winchcombe says: โThe future of cash is very important – the dangers of a cashless world, in which billions of people could be left behind, are real.
โSo, this latest conference comes as a timely opportunity to wake-up and really consider the future for all those involved in cash and payment technologies.โ
He also adds that once the current cash infrastructures disappear, they will be gone for forever: โWe will never be able to get them back. In this world, people without bank accounts will find themselves marginalised, disenfranchised from an infrastructure that previously supported them.
โThis is why we need to have the big cash debate now. Itโs important for all our futures and why policy and decision makers will come together in Athens to address the changing environment and what progress can be made to secure a stronger, brighter future.โ
For details of the conference visit www.thefutureofcash.com.
