You can watch this Q&A Roundtable Session via our website under Resources > Videos/Webinars (you do not have to be logged in to the website to view this particular recording).
If you were in attendance or watched the recording of the October 1 webinar** re: The Future of Cash Management Services (CIT/Cash Processors) you will have seen that we didn’t have enough time to answer all the important questions raised by our audience, so our panel graciously agreed to hold another Q&A session to go through the unanswered questions and take additional questions from participants in the virtual meeting.
The Cash Management Companies (CMCs) are a critical cash stakeholder and it is essential that we understand their challenges and consider solutions across the currency industry.
During this hour-long Virtual Teams Meeting/Round-table, our panelists shared MORE helpful insights re: the challenges they face in light of the changing payment behaviour and what the industry can do together to bring more resilience to the CIT/Cash Processors and to CASH.
Below is a Summary of the Questions/Answers and other statements made.
For an even more detailed summary of the discussion–click HERE: https://currencyaffairs.org/wp-content/uploads/_pda/2025/12/Virtual-QA-Roundtable-Session-Notes.-DETAIL.pdf
Question 1: At what point does a decline in cash access and acceptance make cash no longer a mainstream, trusted, and credible means of payment?
Answers/ Key Points:
- Cash credibility depends on both consumer perception and operational sustainability.
- Cash stops being trusted when people cannot reliably access or use it.
- Infrastructure viability underpins trust; if the network supporting cash fails, credibility declines.
- Central banks’ mandates to issue physical currency maintain trust in cash.
Question 2: How can we avoid “sleepwalking” into a digital-only society, especially in countries where cash use is declining?
Answers/ Key Points:
- Digital adoption will never be complete; cash must remain as a backup and resilience pillar.
- Cash use is influenced by network availability; outages reduce usage immediately.
- Future-of-payments strategies must include cash to avoid costly restructuring later.
- Maintaining cash supports sovereignty, consumer choice, and contingency planning.
Question 3: Will digital IDs and real-time payment systems (e.g., Pix, UPI) impact cash use?
Answers/Key Points:
- Digital IDs can encourage digital payments if trusted, seamless, and optional.
- If perceived as mandatory or surveillant, they may drive people back to cash.
- Convenience drives adoption; cash must remain easy to access to maintain usage.
- Emerging systems create opportunities to communicate the role of cash as a contingency.
Question 4: Does the cash-in/cash-out model of mobile money agents help or hinder traditional cash management systems?
Answers/Key Points:
- Co-existence of digital and physical cash systems is possible but requires intentional design.
- Provider behavior (ease, cost, convenience) influences consumer choices.
- Central banks should ensure cash is not undermined by competition from private digital solutions.
- Cash is a public good, requiring coordinated management alongside digital innovations.
Question 5: How should central bank seigniorage be considered in supporting cash vs. digital payment systems?
Answers/ Key Points:
- Seigniorage funds enter public budgets without earmarking for cash access or financial inclusion.
- Monitoring government and central bank spending on digital initiatives versus cash support can inform advocacy.
- Highlighting investment imbalances may strengthen the case for continued cash support.
Question 6: Are there new technologies or approaches that can reduce the cost of cash distribution while maintaining security?
Answers/ Key Points:
- Lessons from e-commerce logistics can inspire hybrid models, shared infrastructure, and consolidation hubs.
- Cash distribution requires specialized security and strict chain-of-custody rules; full substitution is difficult.
- Dynamic, risk-based security models can reduce unnecessary costs.
- Regulatory alignment and streamlining of rules can enable efficiency improvements.
Question 7: What can be done—even in cash-heavy markets—to maintain the cash cycle?
Answers/Key Points:
- Proactive monitoring of cash volumes, ATMs, and distribution points is essential.
- Open communication with regulators and sharing of cost and revenue data across the value chain supports decision-making.
- Minimum service levels and compensation mechanisms may be necessary to ensure sustainability.
Question 8: Do we know enough to define “triggers” signaling when a country’s cash system is at risk, or are incidents too specific?
Answers/Key Points:
- There are identifiable early warning signs: declining ATMs and bank branches, increasing unit costs, and lack of reinvestment.
- Open exchange with regulators enables proactive management.
- Defining clear roles and responsibilities across the value chain allows timely interventions before service collapse.
Miscellaneous Statements on the topic:
Statement 1: Cash management must shift from isolated, cost-driven silos to a coordinated, shared responsibility model recognizing cash as critical public infrastructure.
Key Points:
- Cash management should be viewed as part of national payments infrastructure, not a private product.
- Coordinated approaches improve risk mitigation, resiliency, and stakeholder alignment.
- Changing perception of cash management externally and internally is essential.
Statement 2: Unless something is done to support it, private companies in the cash cycle may have to withdraw to survive financially, threatening the system.
Key Points:
- Cash is a public good, yet distribution relies on private players with commercial obligations.
- Central banks and governments must clarify responsibilities and provide funding or legislative support.
- Without intervention, system resiliency, sovereignty, and consumer choice are at risk.
- Regulatory and policy frameworks must ensure private sector participants can operate sustainably.
** Watch the webinar recording via our website. Go To Resources page on the website and under Video/Webinars you will find it. You do not have to be logged in to view this particular webinar recording as it was open to all industry individuals.
