From the category archives:

Of Interest

East African Community – Single Currency

07.27.2010
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On 30 June, at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala, five ambassadors stood before a map of East Africa, on which ribbons had been placed around the borders of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Each ambassador then proceeded to cut the ribbon at the border post of his country, in a symbolic gesture that marked the opening of a common market within the East African Community (EAC).

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2010 IACA Currency Awards

07.01.2010
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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
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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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US Government to Audit the FRB

05.12.2010
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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
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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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Death By A Thousand Cuts

04.26.2010
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The recent report by the Payments Council – the body responsible for setting the strategy for payments in the UK – should be a wake-up call to us all in the currency industry. Although the report covers the UK only, it is a trend that is typical of payment systems in many countries around the world. In summary, it documents a decline in the use of cash in the last decade and forecasts a further decline, detailing changes that have been taking place gradually, but steadily. Is this a case of ‘death by a thousand cuts?’ And, if so, is there anything we can do about it?

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You Learn Something New Every Day – Fractional Currency

04.14.2010

Did you know that during the American Civil War and for a few years after, the United States issued paper currency in lieu of coins? According to rebelstatescurrency.com, the 5, 10, 25, and 50 cent notes were issued due to a coin shortage.

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Happy Birthday to Us!

04.09.2010
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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
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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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The Feel of Money

03.29.2010
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It is said that the only constant in life is change – no, not the coin in your pocket variety but the sort that challenges us to continuously adapt.First came the news that Canada will be changing their currency to a polymer based substrate. Next, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is now suggesting new changes for the US green-back, which actually isn’t so green anymore.

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NamSys Links with IBM

03.15.2010
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TORONTO, March 8 /CNW/ – Cencotech Inc. (CTZ – TSX-V) is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Namsys Inc. (“Namsys”) has entered into an agreement with IBM Canada Ltd. (“IBM”) whereby IBM, initially in North America, will be a reseller of the Company’s “Currency Controller(TM)” software and related products.

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Cash Makes A Comeback

03.11.2010
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For all the stories of the cashless society, Web 2.0 currency revolutions, etc. cash might be making a quiet comeback as the preferred payment method for many of us. In a recent article published in American Banker, the author postulates that recent bank bailouts might be the driver for consumers increased use of cash.

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It Just Feels Funny

03.05.2010
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Having been involved in the currency handling business for many years and having experience in many countries means that I have had the opportunity to handle many different kinds of “paper” money. I placed the word paper in parentheses for a reason, because in today’s world not all currency is made of paper. Australia started the trend away from paper/cotton based currency a few years ago. They were followed by Mexico and a handful of other countries. Now Canada is joining the ranks.

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The Cost of Cash

02.24.2010
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Recently an associate sent me an article regarding the relative “cost” of different retail payment media – credit cards, debit cards and cash. While the article (reprinted below) makes a convincing argument for cash discounts, it neglects to understand or incorporate the real cost of cash in society. I am sure those of you reading this post will agree with me that there are hidden costs of cash that most of society never sees or thinks about. So, what is the cost of cash?

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De La Rue Teams with Cummins Allison

02.11.2010

Cummins-Allison, Mt. Prospect, Illinois, USA and De La Rue, Basingstoke, UK, today announced a strategic partnership to sell De La Rue high speed currency sorters and Enterprise Cash Management software solutions in the North American region through Cummins-Allison’s extensive nationwide distribution and service network.

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Burroughs is Back!

02.09.2010
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PLYMOUTH, Mich. – Marlin Equity Partners (“Marlin”) is pleased to announce that it has acquired the check and cash automation equipment and related U.S. maintenance, printer and direct supply business of Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) and has subsequently formed a new company, Burroughs Payment Systems, Inc.

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Is Cash Becoming Obsolete?

01.20.2010
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I have always been a bit of a Luddite when it comes to the prevalence of cash as the favoured payment medium for most common “everyday” transactions. It is simple, inexpensive and anonymous. For these reasons and others I have always maintained that cash will remain king at least through my lifetime. However, the presenter of this speech Mr. Douglas Rushkoff makes some very interesting observations about the origins of cash…

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Mobile Transfers – Will They Live Up to the Hype?

01.15.2010
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On January 6, American Banker published an article entitled Mobile Transfers Taking Aim at Cash Payments. I suppose that one could start a “cash threat” list by adding mobile P2P transfers to contactless payments. P2P transfers are an extremely useful tool and are already in place in much of the world – and not just via PayPal. There are two primary issues to be worked out. The first is determining which accounts to use to move money. The second issue is pricing. There has been a lot of talk about the tolerance of consumers to pay for P2P transfers. I believe that this is wishful thinking.

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Parting Thought on the FDIC Study….and 2009

12.21.2009

So you’ve heard me rail on about the unbanked and underbanked for the last couple of weeks and I’m not quite ready to let it go. In addition to outlining the results of the FDIC study, I’d also like to give one final thought on what we as banks do about it.

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The Underbanked – Are we making cross-selling efforts or are they just not working?

12.14.2009
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The FDIC study – take two. In my last post, I focused on the unbanked and some misconceptions about that group. Today I’d like to focus on the underbanked — those households that have a deposit account but rely on non-bank financial services. These are households that are already bank customers but are also using alternative financial services (AFS). The FDIC study provides great insight into what those AFS products are – good information for a bank that’s looking to improve cross-sales to existing clients.

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The FDIC’s New Study on the Un- and Under-banked – Will It Help or Hurt?

12.09.2009
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Last Wednesday, the FDIC released the results of the National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households. The survey found that over 1 in 4 US households are unbanked or underbanked. There have always been outreach efforts by some banks to bring the unbanked into the fold. But as I’ve included unbanked information in my presentations on self-service, I’ve had some comments that these groups are not “good” bank clients so banks don’t see any need to reach out.

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Cash is Back – At Least This Year

12.04.2009

The New York Times recently published an article indicating that the percentage of people planning to use cash for holiday shopping in 2009 is up 9.2% over 2008 and this isn’t the first time we’ve heard that cash has made a comeback in 2009. But will it last? Is this a permanent philosophical and practical change? Or is cash actually experiencing death throes as debit cards, prepaid cards and contactless payments continue their steady rise?

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BAI Retail Delivery Show – an exhibitor’s perspective

11.12.2009

The subject of this post is a little misleading. For the record I want to state officially that I am neither an exhibitor myself nor do I own a company that exhibits at this event. I work for a company that exhibits at this event and as a result of my employment I have found myself attending the 2008 and 2009 events in Orlando and Boston respectively.

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Retail Currency Management – Short-term solution, long-term gain

10.23.2009
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Financial institutions have long tracked the amount of currency they hold in cash vaults, at branches, and in ATMs. However, retail merchants have not been able to manage currency as closely as banks. Instead of simply moving cash internally as needed, as banks do, retailers have had to move cash to and from the banks daily to get credit, gain interest for deposits, and maintain the necessary mix of currency denominations. And they have either had to pay costly armored carrier fees or risk the safety of employees carrying large amounts of cash between the stores and the banks.

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Who Will Speak Up for Cash?

10.21.2009
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The past year or so has been by and large a good one for the currency industry. The economic meltdown has led to increased demand for cash, while the banks and financial institutions, preoccupied with rather more weighty issues than pushing people toward payment instruments that benefit them, have gone quiet on the subject.

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The 2009 Fiserv Cash & Logistics Connect Forum – Another Stellar Roundup

10.14.2009
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Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at Fiserv’s Cash & Logistics Connect Forum in Boston. While I certainly liked speaking on the topic of cash management in a year when there have been so many interesting changes (and so much more cash in circulation!), I mostly enjoyed meeting so many people who live and breathe currency management on a daily basis.

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The Cashless Branch (continued) – Is it possible to be cashless and still make customers happy?

10.07.2009
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So how can a bank transform itself to a cashless branch without scaring away the customers that still want and need to come to the branch? Any hardware manufacturer will be happy to tell you how as it relates to the layout and functionality. But the key question is how to do it in such a way that the branch is more profitable and the customers are not alienated.

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if the recession is over can we go back to normal?

10.01.2009

I have heard and seen editorials in the past few weeks warning of the complacency that comes with narrowly escaping an economic depression. These same editorialists are asking the same questions – mostly of our leaders – why are they not warning us of not heeding the lessons we apparently just learned. If this recession was so quick to fix (I said quick, not inexpensive), then why can’t we just continue with our cavalier ways. If it happens again the governments and central banks will just bail us out again, right?

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The Cashless Branch – Scaring the Customers or Just the Next Step?

09.29.2009

If you haven’t considered the cashless branch before, you may be asking “Why?”, quickly followed by “How?” I could do entire presentations and research notes on this topic, so I’m probably not going to do these questions justice here. But let me just hit on some highlights on the “Why” today and the “How” in my next post.

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