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 […]