‘Cash is indispensable and is here to stay,’ was the overwhelming conclusion of this year’s The Future of Cash Conference, which took place in Warsaw, Poland, in early November.
The conference brought together thought-leaders and key stakeholders from the cash community across the globe, who shared a series of presentations with their peers.
Co-sponsored this year by cash handling experts Volumatic, fintech experts FiNDI and independent cash researchers and advocates, CashEssentials, the three-day event explored the latest innovative strategies that will help shape and adapt the future of cash.
In addition to highlighting the overwhelming benefits of cash, The Future of Cash conference also focused on the need to maintain access to cash for all, as well as the importance of cash for the most vulnerable in society.
Discussions also took place about the right for consumers and businesses to retain the choice to pay in cash – something Volumatic wrote about in their post-pandemic white paper, ‘Consumers Demand Payment Choice’.
Take a look at some of the key findings and actions being taken towards protecting the future of cash that were shared at the event:
Bank of England
The Bank of England, which has regularly partnered with Volumatic over cash industry developments, were keen to emphasise the importance of cash in the UK, citing a government report that noted that the UK is not ready to become cashless, with 17% of the UK population saying they would struggle in a cashless society.
Their latest figures show that cash is currently used for around 10% of transactions in the UK and remains an economic necessity for 25 million people – more than a third of the population. The Bank of England also revealed that the UK is seeing an increase in notes in circulation as more people turn to cash.
The Bank of England have made the following key recommendations to the UK government to ensure the regulation of cash:
- Guarantee access to cash for consumers and businesses
- Ensure cash is widely accepted across all UK businesses
- Develop an affordable cash infrastructure
One of the Bank of England’s main objectives is to ensure cash distribution remains effective, resilient and sustainable for the future, following the onslaught of recent bank branch and ATM closures across the UK.
They are committed to assessing potential risks within their system and are working with both UK firms and other organisations to identify and find solutions for challenges to support the UK wholesale and retail markets more effectively.
European Central Bank (ECB)
The European Central Bank said at the conference that the Eurosystem is “committed to cash.” citing that the euro is now the second most widely used currency in the world (behind the U.S dollar), serving 357 million people across 21 countries.
Like the UK, the ECB shared that cash in circulation is increasing across Europe, with adults aged 60+ still using cash most often for everyday payments, but young adults (18-27) also paying in cash about as often as the average consumer, showing a clear rebellion against digitisation.
They also said that the perceived importance of cash across Europe has risen each year since 2019 across ALL age groups.
The ECB believe cash remains important in society because:
- It’s useful as a budgeting tool to track spending
- It is the only private and secure method of payment
- It’s resilient – cash can always be used when other payment methods go down
- It offers freedom and autonomy – no third party is required, keeping costs lower
- It’s inclusive – it can be used by kids, the elderly, the visually impaired and those without bank accounts
Piero Cipollone, a Member of the Executive Board at ECB, said: “Cash is still indispensable, and the ECB is working to ensure that it remains readily available and easy to use. Cash can serve the public’s critical needs that alternatives cannot fully replace.”
The Federal Reserve
The U.S. is following a similar pattern to Europe, with the central bank of the United States, The Federal Reserve, sharing in its presentation that the total demand for U.S. currency continues to increase.
As of September 2025, U.S. currency in circulation worldwide reached $2.36 trillion (+2.6% YoY). They also revealed that cash use remained consistent across the U.S.
The share of people keeping cash on them or at home has also remained elevated since the pandemic, with ATMs across the country frequently used for cash withdrawals.
Like the UK, the U.S. has also seen bank locations and ATMs declining year on year and is proposing a branch or centralised vault where orders from the Federal Reserve are shipped, solving the problem of access to cash for businesses and consumers.
LINK ATM Scheme
The leading UK cash machines (ATM) network, LINK echoed the Bank of England’s findings about the rise in the number of banknotes in circulation across the UK in 2025.
LINK have seen the average withdrawal value from ATMs continuing to rise, and their latest research shows that 81% of the population still carry some amount of cash on them.
They also supported the Bank of England’s recommendations to the UK government to help ensure the regulation of cash and championed Cash Action UK’s Banking Hubs, operated by the Post Office, which offer easy access to face-to-face cash and banking in the heart of communities across the UK, which have provided a lifeline to many following so many bank branch closures.
LINK also disclosed that their latest survey on cash acceptance showed that 80% of the UK feel that having the option to pay with cash is fairly or very important. And even though actual cash usage is far lower than this, both consumers and businesses want to retain the right to use cash as a payment method.
The conference ended with the CashTech Awards which rewarded those in the industry who are working towards helping the most vulnerable in society getting regular access to cash.
Volumatic MD James Harris, who attended this latest Future of Cash conference, said: “The Future of Cash Conference is always an informative and eye-opening look into the reality of the cash infrastructure in modern society, which is why Volumatic were extremely proud to sponsor and attend this year’s event.”
“Many of the talking points this year were areas we’ve already been aware of as industry thought leaders, but it was also interesting to see these themes are shared across the world and across different experts and organisations and to see that that there is a real passion and need to ensure the future of cash from the industry, as well as all the work going on to maintain people’s right to access cash and continue to use it and to help those people in society who rely on cash.”
