The role of cash in a changing society

Abstract

An overview of the role of cash in a changing society and the current landsacape in Spain. The world of retail payments has changed strongly in all countries over the last 2 years and much uncertainty about the future remains even today. There has been a remarkable increase in banknotes in circulation in Spain since the onset of the pandemic. We noticed an increase of demand for cash as store of value and a decrease demand for transactional purposes. At present, cumulative net banknote issuance has started to move slowly back towards pre-crisis figures, but is still well above its 2019 levels, standing at around €8.4 billion in 2021. Taking stock of how the crisis was managed, it is safe to say that both the Banco de España and the Eurosystem as a whole have demonstrated a high operational resilience to address supply and demand shocks such as the one brought about by the health crisis. Cash remains a key means of payment for much of the general public in Spain.