On Wednesday, October 1, we held an extremely insightful webinar continuing to deep dive into our key currency stakeholders and the risks and challenges they are facing and the risks to a future with cash. For this webinar, we had a panel of Cash Management Services (CIT/Cash Processors) professionals sharing their important perspectives. If you missed the webinar–watch it HERE: https://vimeo.com/1123569408/d7dab0d2f6
KEY TAKE-AWAYS from the WEBINAR:
- A healthy sustainable cash cycle has the following characteristics:
- Strong regulatory support and public ownership
- Cash is available and accepted and this may require regulatory framework
- People using cash and understand cash means resilience, inclusion, national security, sovereignty
- Balance :
- Central Bank cash objectives being met
- Banks & retailers are getting good service and value from their CMC
- Cash is accessible and accepted
- CMC’s making reasonable financial profit and able to continue their essential services
- Key factors shaping cash positively/negatively
- Policy & regulation will have biggest impact and will either protect cash or replace cash
- Public perception of cash — people need to understand that cash = freedom, inclusion, sovereignty, security, resilience
- Technology improvements moving people to digital payments> causing decline in cash > affecting access and acceptance
- CBDC – is it designed to co-exist with cash or replace?
- Key Stakeholders assuming that cash will disappear quietly without managing the consequences of leaving the infrastructure hollowed out
- Is regulatory intervention such as regulated cash services pricing, utility models, cost sharing reasonable answers to sustain cash infrastructure?
- If strong cash protection legislation happens early enough– the market can operate effectively without intervention
- Distribution of cash should be considered “essential cash services”
- Every market is different–Some of these interventions are plan B, C, D etc. In markets where cash infrastructure is strained.
- Cost sharing frameworks instituted early can be a strategy to handle cash-shrinking pains
- Strategies to handle cash-shrinking pains
- Early collaboration with shared responsibility view
- Regular meetings of all cash system stakeholders
- Monitoring the health of the cash system
- Understanding cash trends
- A view of market shifts that might indicate trouble ahead
- Introducing a critical „Cash Access Indicator” below which the viability of the cash infrastructure is at risk
- Optimization of the cash cycle- understanding cost drivers
- Strong cash protection regulatory frameworks >-> propose: minimum distribution network to guarantee access to cash
- Early collaboration with shared responsibility view
Thank you to our Panelists:
Scott Forster
Founder/Director of CPT Group and former General Manager of Linfox/Armaguard, Australia
Scott Forster is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years of experience in the cash management industry, holding senior leadership roles across operations, strategy, transformation, and growth. He is currently a Director at The CPT Group, a specialised international consultancy dedicated to cash cycle transformation and optimisation. The CPT Group works with central banks, commercial banks, cash management companies, ATM deployers, and other stakeholders to drive innovation, enhance efficiency, and future-proof cash cycles worldwide.
Tanja Kulisch-Ziemens
Secretary General, Cash Chapter of the International Security Ligue
Tanja is a thought leader with over 30 years of expertise in international leadership, strategic transformation, finance, finance regulation and advocacy. In her role as Secretary General at the International Security Ligue, she is promoting the importance of the availability and accessibility of cash and its infrastructure to remain a reliable, resilient, secure and inclusive payment choice for the society and economy.
Charles Nwodo
Chairman, Integrated Cash Management Services (ICMS)
Mr Charles Nwodo Jnr is the Founder and Executive Chairman of XL Africa Group, and serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Integrated Cash Management Services Limited (ICMS), a subsidiary of XL Africa Group and one of the two Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) licensed providers of both currency distribution (CIT) and currency processing (CPC) services in Nigeria. Mr Nwodo studied Civil Engineering, has an MBA in Investment Management and another Master’s degree in Development Policies and Practices. He is presently studying for a PhD with research focus on African Apprenticeship Systems.
David Fagleman
Co-founder and Director, Enryo Consulting – MODERATOR
David is a leading voice in the banking and payments industry, making the case for inclusive payment systems that provide fair access for all. He was Head of Policy and Research at Cash Services UK and worked at the innovation foundation Nesta, the Westminster-based think tank ResPublica and a Member of the UK Parliament. In 2020, he set-up Enryo Consulting, a consultancy designed to support the financial services industry as it navigates times of change. He is a Policy and Advocacy Associate at the Finance Innovation Lab.
NOTE: IACA held a subsequent Discussion Meeting at the Americas Cash Cycle Seminar in Miami on Novembe 3, 2025 diving deeper into this topic. Read about this Meeting and read the notes here: https://currencyaffairs.org/overview-of-the-future-of-cmcs-discussion-at-americas-ccs-in-miami/
