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Astrid Mitchell

1 July 2026

3 min read

Our Enduring Emotional Attachment to Cash

Four separate cash-related stories from four separate countries in the last month. One theme in common, however, which is the enduring personal attachment to banknotes – dare one say the emotional support – that currency involves. In other words, what unites them is the fact that emotion still prevails when it comes to a nation’s calling card, even in those countries which are supposedly doing away with cash, as is claimed to be the case in Denmark and the UK.

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Astrid Mitchell

3 Feb. 2026

4 min read

Celebrating Cash: An Opportunity

The readers of this article are likely to agree that cash, whether banknotes or coins, is a wonderful thing. Although the siren call of convenience is luring people to digital alternatives, cash remains part of the fabric of our societal DNA.

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Astrid Mitchell

23 Dec. 2025

5 min read

Reports of the Death of Cash are Greatly Exaggerated

This heading paraphrases words attributed to Mark Twain when his obituary was published while he was still alive. They seem strangely apt right now when it comes to cash.

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Astrid Mitchell

28 Nov. 2025

4 min read

What We Can Learn from the Dying Days of the Cheque

Life used to be so simple. You could pay with cash, with a cheque or with a wire transfer. Today the number of payment options is big, and getting bigger, as ‘bank money’ fragments into a myriad of different products and payment rails. In addition, add in crypto currency, stablecoins and CBDCs. Where will it all end?

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Astrid Mitchell

31 Oct. 2025

3 min read

Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans

American Eagle, a US clothes manufacturer, hired the actress Sydney Sweeney for their autumn 2025 denim campaign. The campaign led to an increase in sales, attracting nearly a million new customers between July and September. The two products in the adverts, named after Sweeney, sold out – the denim jacket in a day and the jeans in a week.

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Astrid Mitchell

24 July 2025

5 min read

Uniting a Nation – the Challenges of a New Series

The Bank of England (BOE) and the European Central Bank (ECB) have both started the process of designing new banknote series. With counterfeiting levels low, the rationale for these new series seems to lie in a wish to ‘renew’ and ‘reinvigorate’ people and the idea of the nation (UK) or community (Europe). To deliver this, playing it ‘safe’ risks failure. Can the designers rise to the challenge?

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Nikki Strickland

2 July 2025

4 min read

Global Uncertainty Increases – What Does This Mean for Cash?

As of early 2025, the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index has reached its highest levels this century, signalling a period of significant macroeconomic volatility. Similarly, the World Uncertainty Index (WUI) has nearly tripled, increasing from approximately 16,043 in Q1 2024 to around 48,146 in Q1 2025. This significant surge in uncertainty is global, affecting all regions.

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Astrid Mitchell

27 May 2025

4 min read

A Tale of Two Currencies – A Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside an Enigma

The European Central Bank has published the production requirements for euro banknotes for 2026, which – at just under 1.95 billion – is nearly half that of 2025 (3.4 billion) and the second lowest figure since the euro was introduced in 2002 (the only year it was lower was in 2004). The value is €56 billion.

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Astrid Mitchell

1 May 2025

4 min read

The Consumer Decides

On 4 April Microsoft turned 50 years old. Amazon is just over 30, Meta is 21 and the iPhone is just 18. Will they last as long as Microsoft?

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Astrid Mitchell

31 March 2025

4 min read

Gender Parity in Currency – Some Way Still to Go

In case you missed it, 8 March was International Women’s Day. It was an opportunity for organisations to celebrate the achievements of the women in their workforce, notably on social media. The currency industry, traditionally viewed as a bastion of male dominance, was no exception.

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Astrid Mitchell

3 March 2025

5 min read

Positive Picture for Cash Companies Continues in 2024

Each February and March we cover the previous year’s results for the leading companies in cash management, most of whose financial years run from January to December. Between them these results provide a useful means of taking the pulse of our industry.

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Astrid Mitchell

23 Dec. 2024

5 min read

Report Card: ‘A Mixed Year with Evidence of Improvement’

There is a perception that in 2022 and 2023 the currency ‘industry’ was a little flat, even lacking self-confidence, in the face of the fall out from the pandemic and the huge surge in digital payments as societies rapidly went online. The evidence of 2024 tells a rather different story.

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Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2024

3 min read

Change is the Only Constant

The first Directory of Currency Suppliers™ was published in 2004. This year has seen the publication of the seventh edition. Here, we take a look at changes between the sixth edition from 2018 and today, and a slightly higher level look at 2004 and today.

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Francisco Mandiola

3 July 2024

5 min read

A Day Late and a Dollar Short?

Is dollarisation a cure-all for unstable, hyper-inflationary nations? It is very hard to make that judgement, especially since stronger currencies, whether it be the dollar or euro, are also subject to changes in their value which may or may not benefit the dollarised economies in the short-term.

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John Winchcombe

28 May 2024

4 min read

Challenging Manufacturing ‘Truth’: Is Small Beautiful?

An unscientific rule of thumb taught to those entering the banknote industry used to be that a country needed a population of about 40 million people to justify having their own banknote printing works. This article considers how accurate, or relevant, this rule is in modern times.

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Astrid Mitchell

1 Feb. 2024

7 min read

2024: a Year of Protecting Cash

2024 has kicked off with a focus on cash, particularly a series of initiatives by central banks to safeguard access to cash.

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Astrid Mitchell

1 Feb. 2024

3 min read

Currency News Comes of Age

Currency News™ has officially ‘come of age’! That is, if reaching its 21st birthday counts as the coming of age – which in many societies it does.

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Astrid Mitchell

1 Feb. 2024

2 min read

New Year, New Name!

Cash & Payment News™ (CPN) is the sister publication to Currency News™. It was first published in July 2018 as the successor to Payment News Quarterly and, while Currency News focuses on the product that is ‘cash’, CPN has concentrated on the use of cash once issued.

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Xiu Ding Chen

1 Feb. 2024

4 min read

Gifting Money – My Personal Experience

This is the first in a series of articles that explores the cultural aspect of money that goes beyond its function as a means of payment or store of value. Many societies have a long-standing tradition of gifting money (banknotes and coins) to mark auspicious occasions – births and birthdays, weddings and other special events, where the value of the gift is as much social as it is financial.

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Astrid Mitchell

28 Dec. 2023

1 min read

New Report on House Notes

In 2021, Currency News™ issued a special supplement – Concept Notes: Art, Design and Security in One – which reviewed the latest and best ‘concept’ or ‘house’ notes. Following the success of this supplement, we will issue the second version in 2024, covering the newest concept notes over the intervening period.

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Latest News

Our Enduring Emotional Attachment to Cash

Celebrating Cash: An Opportunity

Reports of the Death of Cash are Greatly Exaggerated

What We Can Learn from the Dying Days of the Cheque

Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans

Uniting a Nation – the Challenges of a New Series

Global Uncertainty Increases – What Does This Mean for Cash?

A Tale of Two Currencies – A Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside an Enigma

The Consumer Decides

Gender Parity in Currency – Some Way Still to Go

Positive Picture for Cash Companies Continues in 2024

Report Card: ‘A Mixed Year with Evidence of Improvement’

Change is the Only Constant

A Day Late and a Dollar Short?

Challenging Manufacturing ‘Truth’: Is Small Beautiful?

2024: a Year of Protecting Cash

Currency News Comes of Age

New Year, New Name!

Gifting Money – My Personal Experience

New Report on House Notes

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