India’s experience suggests that the future of money may lie not in replacing cash, but in redefining its role. Few developments in modern economics are as intriguing as India’s evolving monetary landscape. Conventional wisdom would...
Walking past the shuttered doors and “No Cash” signboards of automated teller machines (ATMs) across India over the past three months has triggered a collective, uneasy sense of vulnerability. During March, April, and May 2026,...
The (COVID-19) bell is tolling As COVID-19 wreaks its havoc, the end of John Donne’s poem ‘No man is an island’ (cited in the previous edition of Economic Insights) seems unhappily ever more appropriate. Alas,...
Even though a lot of the world is headed toward cashless payment, the central banks in the 19-nation eurozone keep minting small denomination coins by the ton. What’s behind this old habit? With more than...
India wants to go digital and cash becomes outdated overnight. Prime minister Modi certainly wants to do the right thing. But with the demonetization move his calculation just doesn’t add up, writes Katja Keppner. Why...
The majority of Germans still prefer using cash over electronic forms of payment, a study has found. Consumers feel real banknotes and coins are a lot safer, and that their use is completely anonymous to...