ICA Welcomes Strong EU Measures to Protect Cash Payments, Calls for Even Greater Safeguards
New EU Parliament Report on Legal Tender Regulation Is a Key Step to Protect Our Freedom to Pay with Cash, Says International Currency Association The International Currency Association (ICA) welcomes the recently published “Draft Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the legal tender of euro […]
Bitcoin Consumes as Much Electricity as Argentina—Cash Is the Sustainable Alternative
Bitcoin consumes as much electricity as an entire country—Argentina. That striking fact, highlighted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), should give every policymaker pause. While the digital payment world is celebrated as convenient and cutting-edge, it carries a hidden and massive energy bill that rarely makes it into official economic statistics or climate debates. The […]
Cash is Class: Ethics in the Future of Payments
How we pay is more than a technical choice. In a world racing toward digital everything, it is a statement of who we are. Payment systems do not just move money; they shape access, autonomy, and trust. It is tempting to view cash as outdated when you can pay with your phone. But that would […]
Cash as a Public Good: Protecting Local Economies from Bank Fees
For many, cash is more than a payment method. It is a lifeline, a tool for control over spending, and a driver of local economic circulation. Consider a simple £50 note. In cash form, it can change hands dozens of times without losing value. A person repays a debt, the recipient pays the hairdresser, the […]
Kenya’s Parliament Endorses Landmark Bill to Protect Cash Users
The Kenyan National Assembly’s Committee on Finance and National Planning has recently endorsed an amendment to the Central Bank of Kenya Bill to protect the use of cash in face-to-face commerce. Under the proposed legislation, all businesses dealing with customers in person would be required to accept cash payments of up to KSh 100,000. Providers would […]
Cash Access and the New Legal Frontiers
Governments across continents are waking up to the manufactured scarcity of cash—think mass closures of bank branches and a shrinking ATM network, as well as unparalleled marketing and lobbying from card giants, all nudging society to go digital. But 2025 is proving that when policy and public opinion converge, cash doesn’t vanish quietly. It rallies. […]
The Manufactured Myth of Convenience: Why Cash Still Matters
You’ve seen them everywhere. Those glossy advertisements painting a picture of payment perfection: the cheerful barista, the customer effortlessly waving their phone over a sleek terminal, the street vendor sporting a contactless reader like a badge of modernity. Even grandma, once clutching her purse protectively, now taps her smartwatch with the confidence of a digital […]
Komori Rejoins the International Currency Association
The International Currency Association (ICA) is pleased to announce that Komori has rejoined the association. At its meeting on 27 June, the ICA Board of Directors unanimously approved Komori’s application and welcomed the company back as a valued member. A global leader in printing technology, Komori brings extensive experience and innovation to the currency industry. The company expressed […]
New board of directors for the ICA
At the conclusion of the association’s Global Currency Forum 2024 conference, the ICA members held their annual general meeting. Two delegates per ICA member company participate in this meeting. The new ICA board is composed as follows: Etienne Couëlle – Oberthur – Chair Annette Holdermann – Giesecke + Devrient – Vice-chair Dieter Merkle – Schuler […]
Zeiser becomes a member of the ICA
Press release, April 15, 2024 – The International Currency Association (ICA), the voice of the world’s currency sector, is delighted to announce that Zeiser GmbH has become a new member of the association. Zeiser’s new membership further signifies the ICA’s broadening footprint and representation of the global currency industry. The association now has a total […]
ICA annual general meeting and appointment of board
ICA members at annual general meeting have appointed their new board. The new leadership will prioritise the planning for the 2024 Global Currency Forum and providing further value to the membership through the work of the committees. Press release, October 18, 2023 – The International Currency Association (ICA), representing the global currency sector, held its […]
Cash is legal tender – ICA ready to engage with all stakeholders on new European Union legislation
The European Commission, the European Union’s legislator, has today published a proposal on the legal tender status of euro banknotes and coins. The International Currency Association (ICA), representing the global currency sector, applauds the body for proposing new legislation that mandates the acceptance of cash. “Ensure that retailers accept cash” is the first of the […]
ICA white paper on cash policy
ICA cash policy white paper with key recommendations to policymakers and stakeholders For over 5,000 years, cash has been the cornerstone of trade, the economy and society. Today, the ability of people to access and use cash is under threat. Global electronic payment companies, which make huge profits by selling customer data or by charging […]
ICA holds AGM and welcomes new chair and vice-chair for its board
The International Currency Association (ICA), representing the global currency sector, held its annual general meeting today. In order to allow as many members as possible from around the globe to participate, the meeting was held virtually. This was an opportunity to reflect on the exciting year that has passed, with the first-ever edition of the […]
Bundesdruckerei becomes a member of the ICA
The International Currency Association (ICA), the voice of the world’s currency sector, is delighted to announce that the German security solutions provider Bundesdruckerei GmbH has become a new member of the association. Bundesdruckerei is a trusted and innovative partner for governments and central banks worldwide. Its membership further signifies the ICA’s broadening footprint and representation […]
ICA announces Aristocraft International as a new member
ICA Chairman, Dr. Wolfram Seidemann, welcomed Aristocraft to the association stressing that “the decision by Aristocraft to join the ICA reflects our growing strength as the voice for the global currency industry and the value the ICA brings in advocating for the value of cash in the payments landscape of the future.” Upon acceptance of […]
ICA contribution to the reserve bank of australia consultation on its issues paper: ‘review of banknote distribution arrangements
ICA contribution to the Reserve Bank of Australia consultation on its issues paper: ‘Review of banknote distribution arrangements’ The International Currency Association (ICA) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the RBA’s consultation on banknote distribution arrangements and commends the RBA for taking action on this crucial issue. Cash is an essential factor for personal freedom […]
ICA contribution to new zealand reserve bank consultation on its issues paper ‘the future of money – central bank digital currency.
ICA contribution to the New Zealand Reserve Bank consultation on its issues paper ‘The Future of Money – Central Bank Digital Currency’ Submitted in addition to the input to the electronic questionnaire via link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Future-of-money-CBDC The ICA takes the occasion of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s consultation on its discussion paper ‘The Future of […]
The UK can set a global benchmark to safeguard access to cash
The International Currency Association (ICA), representing the voice of the world’s currency sector, has confirmed its submission to the UK Treasury’s consultation on access to cash. The consultation seeks views on the UK government’s legislative proposals for protecting access to cash, including the proposal that geographic requirements be set to ensure the provision of withdrawal […]
The ICA announces new board to lead its next phase of development
The International Currency Association (ICA), representing the global currency sector, hosted its Annual General Meeting today in London. Held as a hybrid meeting, this was a unique opportunity for ICA members to come together both in person in London and virtually from around the world, to reflect on the association’s accomplishments over the past year […]
Bank of England consultation on digital money: ICA contributes on key characteristics for coexistence with cash
The International Currency Association (ICA), representing the global currency sector, has confirmed its submission to the Bank of England’s consultation on its discussion paper on new forms of digital money. The consultation was launched in response to the BoE’s discussion paper published in June 2021, which presented the Bank’s emerging thoughts on new forms of […]
Cash payment limitations for the entire European Union sends the wrong signal about cash, says the International Currency Association
The International Currency Association (ICA) laments the proposed cash payment limitations included in the anti-money laundering regulation presented today by the European Commission, believing they will do more harm than good and urges European policy makers to continue ensuring that cash can play a key role as a public good, in the European Union and […]
Cash is safe: don’t be tricked by misleading article titles
By Wolfram Seidemann, chairman, International Currency Association Since the beginning of the pandemic, we – as a society and especially as a sector producing banknotes and coins for central banks around the world – have seen a steady flow of disinformation around the role cash may play in spreading COVID-19. Let me start with a […]
EU court opinion: cash must be accepted as legal tender for transactions
Since the birth of the single European currency, the principle that euro banknotes and coins are legal tender has been enshrined in the EU Treaty. Unfortunately, during the coronavirus pandemic, fake news about a link between cash and the COVID-19 virus has scared many retailers. In the wake of a case brought against a German […]
New European Commission strategy: cash is a public good and must be accepted by retailers
In the European Commission’s communication on a retail payments strategy, the European Union’s executive has underlined the importance of cash as a public good – stating that “Cash is a means of payment that offers instant settlement in face-to-face transactions, without any technical infrastructure. It is still the only form of money individuals can hold […]
Currency sector association signs sector-wide sustainability charter at annual general meeting
Cash is a public good – it promotes social inclusion and protects personal freedom and privacy. Around the world, cash is used in the vast majority of payments. It should also be as sustainable as possible across its supply chain – as banknote, ink, paper, coin, and payment system leaders came together to affirm this […]
Fighting fake news around cash and COVID
The International Currency Association (ICA), representing the currency sector, has worked with partners since the beginning of this unprecedented public health crisis to highlight verified information on COVID-19 from central banks, health ministries, and academics – governments and research institutes around the world have affirmed that there is no evidence banknotes transmit coronavirus or are […]
ICA information on cash and pandemic
The ICA is concerned by the rise of misinformation regarding the use of banknotes and coins as the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The ICA would therefore like to refer to the following statements and references from medical and cash experts.
EBA recommendation of 25/3/2020
The ICA has expressed its concern regarding the EBA’s recent recommendation to use contactless payments in order to avoid contamination with the COVID-19 virus. Inaccurate links have been drawn between the use of cash as a payment medium and the spread of COVID-19. Several central banks have now confirmed that cash is safe to use […]
ICA key messages
Why cash is safe to use in times of Corona Banknotes and coins are safe to use in times of Corona. Central banks and medical experts all confirm that cash is safe to use; there is no evidence for cash transmitting the virus (see list with references). Every information to the contrary is fake news. […]
Deutsche Bundesbank – Cash poses no particular risk of infection for public
Bundesbank executive board member Johannes Beermann has indicated that the risk of picking up coronavirus via cash is extremely minimal. In a press briefing at the Bundesbank, Mr Beermann noted that “the probability of becoming ill from handling cash is smaller than from many other objects used in everyday life”. “Banknotes and coins do not […]
Who: “Banknotes do not carry the corona virus”
The WHO retracted its recommendation from last week to go cashless (“We did not say that cash was transmitting coronavirus”, Fadela Chaib, spokesperson World Health Organization as quoted by MarketWatch) which it had issued despite assurances by central banks, e.g. the ECB or the Bundesbank, and medical experts that banknotes are no suspects in the […]
ICA Brochure
In 2016, the International Currency Association (ICA) was established as the collective voice for the currency industry, representing stakeholders across the entire payment landscape. ICA – Brochure Download the PDF
Cash as a public good – the expert view
A couple of weeks ago, Cash Matters, the pro-cash movement of the International Currency Association (ICA), published the white paper ‘Virtually Irreplaceable – Cash as a Public Infrastructure’ by Dr Ursula Dalinghaus, making a case for how and why cash must be understood as a ‘public good’. Dr Dalinghaus, Visiting Professor of Anthropology at Ripon […]
Currency community can create the most cost effective billboard campaign of all time
Throughout the history of our industry, cash as a payment mechanism has held a strong position in the ‘exchange of value’ market and as such there was little need to encourage the use of cash – it was an essential public service provided free of charge to the people. Now as the payments landscape has […]
The forum for the cash community
In 2016 the International Currency Association was formed to create a cohesive voice for the industry. Two years on, the ICA is launching its own event. The Global Currency Forum is being presented as a bold new proposition for a new era – a flagship, future-focused, thought-leadership forum that aims to help shape the future […]