Brendan Burge

Bank tells customer: We don’t take cash anymore

05.14.2012

Last week, Bjart Berge headed to his local Nordea branch in Stavanger city centre to deposit his remaining dollars after returning from a trip to the United States, only to be told the bank no longer handles cash of any kind over the counter…

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Meeting the Demand for Cash

05.07.2012

When it comes to using cash, it’s like the flip of a coin: – Americans still use cash roughly one out of every two times they buy something. And for transactions of less than $10, physical currency—banknotes and coins—rules. Although less popular for higher-value transactions and rarely used in the fast-growing realm of online commerce, cash remains the most common method of payment for goods and services the world over.

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Remembering Adrian Baxter

04.04.2012

My dear friend and long-time colleague Adrian Baxter lost his battle with cancer this past Sunday evening. To say that he lost the battle is an understatement. Adrian had a unique and inspirational attitude towards fighting this insidious illness – he faced it with a positive “win-at-all-costs” attitude, an amazing sense of humour and an open style of sharing information about his unfortunate situation. I feel as if he is watching me type these words and encouraging me to share my thoughts with you.

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The War On Cash

02.26.2012

The Cashless Society – it seems that everywhere I go, I still hear the same story over and over again – cash is going away. Well, I am here to say that despite the monumental efforts of governments and other interested parties to dissuade us from persisting with paper and polymer, cash is indeed alive and well – and still growing in circulation.

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ICCOS Americas 2012 – Miami

02.20.2012

We are looking forward to another ICCOS Americas event to be held in Miami Florida, March 11th to 14th. As with past events, we anticipate another fantastic line-up of presentations and interesting displays by this years sponsors. If you have never attended an ICCOS before, or if you have not attended on in a while, we strongly suggest you find it in your travel budget to attend this one!

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ICCOS Asia 2011 – Will You Be There?

10.30.2011

In an appropriate sequel position to my last post on conferences in the east versus west, comes the annual International Commercial Cash Operations Seminar (ICCOS) in Hong Kong, from November 13th through the 15th. Although there has ever been only one previous ICCOS in Asia, the experience and credibility of the organizers attracts a wide variety of central bank and commercial bank attendees, together with a good representation from associated equipment and software suppliers as well as partner organizations such as CIT’s and process outsource operations.

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The Bank Conference Buzz: west vs. east

10.24.2011

I must admit that I have been saving up a bit some enthusiasm for this Post! Mostly I wanted to have two similar yet different conference experiences behind me. It was my good fortune to attend both the recent 2011 BAI Retail Delivery Show in Chicago and also the 2011 CIFTEE Exhibition in Beijing …. Having attended one major event this year in each region – east and west, one has a natural inclination to compare them. Banking related conferees, shows and seminars.in general, in north america and to a lesser extent in europe, are ….

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A Rising Star in Cash Processing

08.11.2011

Over the years, I have found it interesting and informative to follow the adventures of new companies as they start to make a name for themselves. About a year ago I was introduced to a company out of China called GRG Banking. Although they are not “new” in the true sense of the word, they are new to those of us whose focus is mainly in the west. Although they were first established in 1999, it wasn’t until 2010 that they came on the western radar as a serious contender in the international cash processing market.

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Virtual Currency – The Dark Side

07.28.2011

Regular readers of Counting On Currency will know that I am committed to the future of hard currency. This does not mean however, that I am not interested in virtual currency. One particular form of virtual currency that has my attention is BitCoin.

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Nomination Call – Currency Hall of Fame Awards

06.28.2011

The Board of Directors of the International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) is pleased to announce the establishment of the Currency Hall of Fame to honour distinguished contributors to the currency industry in their home countries and around the world. The Hall of Fame will provide a permanent public record and memorial of the achievements of its members, available to all those who are interested in currency, through the IACA web site.

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Is Polymer The Ultimate Counterfeit Deterrence?

06.20.2011

Counterfeit detection is certainly the most troublesome and costly responsibility for those in the cash handling business. There is not a country in the world that is not impacted by this criminal activity. Perhaps the only thing more costly and difficult than detecting valid counterfeits is the effort that goes into trying to stay ahead of the counterfeiters. With new technologies and an ever increasing criminal appetite for the “easy dollar” (pun intended!) central bankers are constantly having to evolve and refine both overt and covert security features.

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Nigerian Cash Management Reform

06.06.2011

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced a new policy, a reform of the Nigerian payments system to encourage the use of electronic payments. The policy becomes effective on June 1, 2012. The policy would impose penalties on consumer & corporate account holders at banks if they withdraw more than a specified cap amount, in cash, each day. The policy imposes penalties on commercial banks if they fail to rigorously follow CBN’s rules for consumer & corporate accounts.

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Is That Google In Your Wallet?

05.30.2011

May 26th, 2011 marked the start of a new venture for Google. Actually, today;s announcement was about the merger of two new Google ventures – Google Wallet and Google Offers. The search engine giant is now poised to become a major player in the mobile payments arena, with the added value of combining a mobile payments platform with easy and instant coupon redemption.

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Could Virtual Currency Become King in Developing Countries?

04.11.2011

Hot on the heals of my post about a virtual currency called BitCoin, I have uncovered another rather surprising new paradigm. It would seem that increasingly people in 3rd world countries – what I prefer to call developing countries – are making a living by performing “micro-tasks” in the virtual economy.

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Rare Currency?

04.04.2011

Who knew that Antarctica actually has it’s own currency. I have never seen or heard of this before. Now I am on the hunt for my own notes from the very frozen, southernmost continent. I can only wonder how many places there are to spend it?

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The BitCoin Project

03.30.2011

Every once in a while a new idea comes along that simply stops me in my tracks and makes me think. I enjoy these moment because they are few, far between and almost always leave me enriched in some way – simply by gaining knowledge of a new concept or idea, having a misconception corrected or, in the rarest of examples, having a total philosophical epiphany. I can’t say that the BitCoin Project qualifies as an epiphany, but it comes close.

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Foiling the Counterfeiter

01.18.2011

We all know how currency printers, security device suppliers and counterfeiters are constantly trying to outsmart each other. A recent paper published in the periodical Advanced Materials. It seems that science has advanced to the extent that it is now possible to print a transistor circuit onto paper using organic compounds. The science of this is far beyond my comprehension, but I do understand the basic principle.

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The Less-Cash Society

01.13.2011

One of the most common debates I hear is about the use of cash. Is it growing or declining? There was a recent report from the UK that indicated cash use was surpassed by other forms of payment for the first time ever. I was recently sent a link to a report from the Aite Group that predicts a decline in cash usage over the next four years. Interestingly however the report does conclude that although there will likely be a decline in cash usage in certain demographic groups, there will be an increase with others.

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Happy Holidays To All!

12.20.2010

As is my custom, I celebrate the tradition of Christmas, with all of it’s meaning as well as commercialism. Sometimes the meaning of the season gets lost in the roar of the corporate engine and so we should find small escapes to reflect and remember what the season is all about. But then the chime for a Skype call goes off, or the ping of new email arriving – the digital age has struck again!

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The Cost of Currency

08.11.2010

In recent weeks there have been a number of articles related to the cost of creating and maintaining cash in society. On the one hand it should be fairly obvious that each note and coin in circulation has an inherent cost of manufacture. What is less clear is the ongoing cost of circulating authentic and fit notes and coins. First, let’s take a look at the obvious – what does it cost to make a note or a coin. The answer may not be as simple as the question.

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Valuable Change for US Notes

07.13.2010

The Federal Register has published for public comment changes to United States Federal Reserve Notes to make them accessible to the blind and the visually impaired, knowing that the alterations will financially affect some ATM owners and operators.

“The purpose of this Federal Register notice is to inform the public of the features the Bureau of Engraving and Printing intends to propose to the Secretary of the Treasury to accommodate people who are blind and visually impaired and to solicit public comment on the proposed accommodation,” the Federal Register wrote in the proposal titled, “Meaningful Access To United States Currency for Blind and Visually Impaired Persons.”

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2010 IACA Currency Awards

07.01.2010

A new family of banknotes from Scotland’s Clydesdale Bank was one of the outstanding winners at the International Association of Currency Affairs’ (IACA) Excellence in Currency Awards, sponsored by ‘Currency News’. A high calibre of entries and some very close voting in several categories marked this year’s awards – the third event – the presentation of which took place during the gala dinner on May 12 at the Currency Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

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The ATM Machine of John Shepherd Barron

06.01.2010

Those of us in the Cash handling business owe this man a debt of gratitude – without his having invented the ATM many of us would not be needed because cash would be less available…

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Evolution or Revolution – New ATM Design

05.17.2010

And now for something completely different… in this world of high-tech gadget mania, I have now truly seen it all – at least when it comes to extremes in currency handling devices. Everyone knows that gold is used as the reserve currency by which countries guarantee the worthiness of their paper and metal based alternatives. [...]

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US Government to Audit the FRB

05.12.2010

It was announced yesterday afternoon that the US Senate approved (96-0) a one-time audit of the Federal Reserve System. Specifically the audit will investigate the Federal Reserve’s economic crisis response programs. We suspect that this will also likely include a review of cash reserves and inventory distributions.

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Is The UK About To Dethrone Cash As King?

05.04.2010

It is well known that the UK is a nation of early adopters and as such has been watched by many a pundit for signs of paradigm shifts. The institution of cash as a preferred payment medium is one of those unassailable paradigms. Or is it? It was recently reported by the UK Payments Council that for the first time it is predicted that cash will make up less than 50% of payments, perhaps as soon as 2015.

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New US $100 Note

04.22.2010

Yesterday it was announced in a joint press release that a new $100 US note will enter circulation next February (2011). In a bold move the BEP and FRB have decided to add some new security features to the most often counterfeited US denomination. This will be the first time that OVD’s (Optical Variable Device) will be used on any US note. Could this be the beginning of an even larger change in US currency design?

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Happy Birthday to Us!

04.09.2010

Today marks the first anniversary of the re-launch of Counting On Currency! We are particularly proud of the loyalty our small but dedicated readership has shown to this humble on-line publication. We are currently reaching over 4,000 unique readers in 108 counties who have amassed well over 35,000 page views in the past 12 months.

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ICCOS 2010

04.08.2010

As many of you are aware, I am an enthusiastic supporter of the International Commercial Cash Operations Seminar. I have attended every event except one over the past 12 years and have yet to be disappointed, which is more than I can say for almost every other industry conference I have been to. This years event promises to provide again the kind of focused and valuable content that we have come to expect from ICCOS, with even more focus on the North, Central and South American markets.

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Transoft President Honoured with Award

04.06.2010

The President & CEO of Transoft International, Inc., Mr. Bo H. Holmgreen, was recently honored by Business Leader Media as one of the Research Triangle’s 2010 Top Entrepreneurs at an awards ceremony in Raleigh. This year’s winners were chosen based on their demonstrated success in their businesses, and will be featured in the April issue of Business Leader Magazine.

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Brendan Burge

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