Webinar: Cash Talks 1: Access to Cash by Reconnaissance Intl.

on-demand webinar

About this Webinar

New Webinar on Access to Cash
CashEssentials is pleased to announce the launch of Cash Talks, a series of short webinars on key trends and issues in the cash space. The first Cash Talk will be held on 10 February and focus on how various countries are addressing the critical issue of Access to Cash.

Access to Cash is Deteriorating
Access to cash is one of the key challenges that will shape the future of cash. The ECB Study on the Payment Attitudes of Consumers in the Euro Area (SPACE) has highlighted the deterioration of the ease of access to cash as the level of satisfaction has dropped from 94% in 2016 to 84% in 2019. In 10 of the 19 euro-area countries, over 10% of the population perceive access to ATMs as difficult or very difficult.
The issue is not limited to the euro-area, as in many countries retail banks and credit institutions continue to adjust their branch and ATM networks thereby limiting access to cash services – including withdrawals and lodgements. Whilst consumers and companies seem to still have, by and large, adequate access to cash, there is evidence that the range of cash services offered is diminishing and that the costs associated with acquiring and depositing cash by businesses and the general public seem to be rising.

Stakeholders are Responding
Access to cash is being increasingly addressed by central banks and regulators across the globe.
• In Sweden, since January 2021 a new law requires banks to provide an adequate level of cash services.
• In the UK, the government announced plans on 15 October 2020 to protect the UK’s future cash system and ensure people have easy access to cash.
• The ECB-led Euro Retail Payments Board published a report on Access and Acceptance of Cash in December 2021.
• The Reserve Bank of Australia launched a stakeholder consultation in November 2021 on what changes might be required to ensure that banknote distribution is effective, efficient, sustainable and resilient – both now and into the future.
• The Dutch central bank commissioned a study on the future of the cash infrastructure from McKinsey, published in June 2021.
• The Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s ongoing Future of Money initiative is seeking feedback on issues facing the cash system and explores options to achieve greater efficiency and resilience.

Agenda

The Challenges Consumers face in Accessing Cash – Anne-Sophie Parent, AGE Platform Europe and co-chair of the ERPB working group on access and acceptance of cash.
Findings of the Euro Retail Payment Board Report on Access to Cash – Diederik Bruggink, Head of Innovation and Payments at the European Savings and Retail Banking Group and co-chair of the ERPB working group on access and acceptance of cash.
The Future of the Cash Infrastructure in the Netherlands – Roel van Ahholt, Programme Manager, De Nederlandsche Bank.
Initiatives to Ensure Access to Cash in the UK – Graham Mott, Director of Strategy, Link Scheme.
Panel discussion and Q & A.

Presenters

Anne-Sophie Parent

From Sept. 2002 to June 2020 Ms. Parent was Secretary General of AGE Platform Europe (AGE), a self-advocacy network of some 100 organisations representing some 40 million seniors across Europe in 27 EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland.

Ms. Parent continues to support AGE in their strive for equality in old age, and in particular in the field of financial services. She has been representing AGE in the Euro Retail Payment Board since this group was established by the European Central Bank in 2014 and has co-chaired the ERPB working group on access to and acceptance of cash (2021).

Diederik Bruggink

Head of Innovation and Payments, WSBI-ESBG

Diederik Bruggink holds responsibility at the two savings and retail banking associations for all payments topics from a worldwide perspective. In that role, he analyses the multiple dimensions of the payments market, proposing and assisting in agreeing member positions with respect to their payments’ and related businesses. He is also advocates the associations’ positions on payments with policymakers, regulators, standardisation bodies, industry associations, and enabling a constant member dialogue on developments, with a particular focus on innovation.

Prior to joining WSBI-ESBG in 2017, he managed since 2012 his own consultancy practice that provided international expertise in cards, payments and market infrastructures. Before then, he was since 2009 the Vice President of card schemes at the Royal Bank of Scotland. Prior to that, he was appointed in 2005 within ABN AMRO’s market infrastructures department as Vice President of payments and cards. He also worked previously with Mastercard where he was a senior business leader in the global debit team. He started his career with Capgemini Global Financial Services in 1996.

He is one of the key authors of the first three editions of the World Payments Report, makes regular appearances at industry conferences and serves as a member of the editorial board of, and regulator contributor to, the Journal of Payments Strategy & Systems. He is also a Board Member of the European Payments Council (EPC) and within the EPC he is also the Chair of the Cash Efficiency Working Group. He co-chaired the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB) working group on access to and acceptance of cash – this working group delivered its report in November 2021.

Roel van Ahholt

Programme Manager, De Nederlandsche Bank

Graham Mott

Director of Strategy, Link Scheme

Guillaume Lepecq

Chairman, CashEssentials

Guillaume Lepecq is a globally recognized expert in the subjects of payments and cash. Working primarily as a consultant over the last fifteen years, Guillaume also worked for Brink’s Europe, Middle-East and Africa (EMEA) as Vice-President of Money Processing where he was responsible for leading the development efforts for integrated money processing solutions for financial institutions and retailers. Guillaume has specialized particularly in retail transactions, including both cash and electronic payments. He has spent the last fifteen years advising financial institutions throughout Europe on their payment strategies. He has been involved in a number of wide-scale projects related to European financial integration, such as the euro cash changeover, the migration to EMV cards and the implementation of the Banknote Recycling Framework. From 1993 to 2001, Guillaume was Director of Corporate Relations at the Association for the Monetary Union of Europe, a business lobby and think-tank backing Economic and Monetary Union. Mr. Lepecq is also a published author, who has written a number of publications and reports detailing the role of cash in society and the means by which it flows across the economic landscape including: “Cash Essentials - Beyond Payments”, “The Future of Cash”, “The Future of Smart Payments” and “Managing the Changeover to the Euro”.