About Currency Research

Through its close relationships with central banks, regulators, payment operators, printworks, and other companies that are part of the cash and payments industry, Currency Research (CR) is the leading global provider of premium conferences for this audience. By connecting senior executives and experts from across the industry in an intimate environment that fosters collaboration and profound discussions, Currency Research (CR) aims to play an important role in enabling thought leadership in an industry that is seeing an unprecedented pace of change. Complemented by its publications, Central Bank Payment News, the Currency Research (CR) Payments Directory, and industry-specific reports, as well as its consulting services and initiatives such as training programs and webinars, Currency Research (CR) is the single source for all things cash and payments. Currency Research (CR) held its first conference ever in 1992 and has maintained its independence since, providing an objective view of developments in the industry.

The Currency Research (CR) team is located across the globe to stay close to its valued customers. With more than 200 years of combined experience in the payments industry, the Currency Research (CR) team is ideally placed to identify the latest trends and the newest developments and reference these throughout everything we do.

Currency Research (CR) is also one of the co-founders of the Universal Access to Payments (UA2P) Summits, a not-for-profit initiative that has financial inclusion at its core, helping to enable access to electronic and digital payments as well as cash to make sure that nobody gets left behind.

We Are Here To Serve You

Our Team

Natasha Bajic
Natasha BajicEvent Manager
Pretoria, South Africa
Joined in 2016

With over 20 years of experience in the currency industry, Natasha expertly manages and executes regional and global cash and payments-focused events for Currency Research. She is committed to creating memorable and worthwhile user experiences at Currency Research events and values interpersonal relationships. Prior to joining in 2016, Natasha began her career at The South African Mint, where she concluded her tenure as Area Manager for the Circulation Coins Export Division, focusing on circulation coin export sales, business development activities in target regions, and relationship management to the existing Central Bank, Monetary Authority, and Mint customer base.

Mariosa Cutajar
Mariosa CutajarFinancial Accountant
Żurrieq, Malta
Joined in 2017

Mariosa has over 10 years’ experience in finance and accountancy. Throughout her career she has achieved many goals and aims and worked in different sectors which have made her stronger and more knowledgeable in what she loves to do, which is understanding and working the numbers. Mariosa’s experience prior to joining Currency Research allowed her responsibility for preparing and analyzing financial reports, managing deadlines, projects and teams to ensure the smooth running of the department and accounting function. She is currently studying for the ACCA qualification.

Yi Qing Eng
Yi Qing EngRegional Sales Coordinator / Administration
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Joined in 2023

Yi Qing Eng has joined Currency Research as a Regional Sales Coordinator / Administration in the Asia Pacific Region, responsible for supporting and coordinating sales activities to foster collaboration and drive global conferences to success with the team. Born and raised in Malaysia, YQ exhibited an early curiosity for financial systems and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Finance.
Prior to joining Cr, YQ spent 8 years excelling in finance, events, and sales. From pioneering financial analysis to orchestrating seamless events and leading successful sales teams, she blends skills for holistic solutions.
Outside of the professional realm, YQ’s interests are travel, reading, photography cuisines, and adventures.
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Brianna Erban
Brianna ErbanEditor in Chief at Central Bank Payments News
Edmonton, Canada
Joined in 2014

Brianna Erban is the Editor-in-Chief of Central Bank Payments News (CBPN). Based in Edmonton, Canada, Brianna has extensive experience in writing business and academic reports, editing, in-depth research and analysis, project planning and management, and communications. For almost a decade and counting, Brianna has focused her research on developments in the fast-moving world of cash and payments. Although primarily focused on news emerging from the digital payments ecosystem, she remains interested in efforts to uphold cash as a consumer choice and democratic right. Brianna studied at Keele University (UK) and the University of Alberta (Canada) and holds a Master of Arts in English Literature degree and a Master’s degree in Library and Information Studies.

Shaun Ferrari
Shaun FerrariVP/Director Global Business Development
Washington, U.S.A.
Joined in 2017

Shaun has spent over 20 years in the cash and payments industry. A tenured currency and central banking expert, before joining Currency Research, Shaun spent 16 years at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Shaun also spent several months with the Digital Dollar Project where he gained extensive knowledge of all things digital assets and digital currencies. He is CR's go-to currency subject matter expert.

Shaun began his career at the Federal Reserve in 2000 with the Division of Monetary Affairs, where he forecasted daily changes in currency in circulation. In 2003, he transitioned to the Division of Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems where he oversaw all operational and policy aspects of U.S. banknote issuance and processing. Shaun was appointed Assistant Director in 2013 and was responsible for the global issuance of U.S. currency and operations of Reserve Bank cash processing centers. Shaun is an expert on the usage and circulation of U.S. currency and represented the Federal Reserve on numerous domestic and international policy-making groups. Shaun also chaired the Committee on Custody Controls and served on the Interagency Currency Design Committee where he gained extensive knowledge of security features, design elements, and counterfeit risks.

Shaun joined CR in 2017 as Managing Director for the Americas region. He was promoted to Vice President for Global Currency Products in 2020 and was appointed Senior Advisor to the CEO in 2023.

Sonia Gagliardi
Sonia GagliardiDigital Marketing Specialist
Ancona, Italy
Joined in 2019

Sonia is a seasoned digital marketing professional with over two decades of experience in senior administrative roles. She has extensive experience with teams spread over multiple countries and time zones and has a proven track record of delivering tangible results.

Within digital marketing, Sonia has worked as a content creator, translator, and social media manager, and has extensive experience in SEO and digital content creation. She has worked as a Social Media Manager and Web Content Manager, where she was responsible for on-site optimization of articles, social media content creation, and technical support of clients' websites. She has created written and visual content for WordPress websites, managed freelance contributors, and created and implemented strategic content calendars for email newsletters.

Sonia is currently the Digital Marketing Specialist for Currency Research (CR), where she conceives and oversees all CR’s digital marketing efforts, including web, SEO/SEM, email, social media, and PPC campaigns. Additionally, she manages the company’s events app, creates marketing collateral, and produces and edits video content to drive engagement and boost brand awareness.

Helen Gibson
Helen GibsonHead of Client Relations
Harrogate, United Kingdom
Joined in 2018

Helen is responsible for managing all operational relationships with the sponsors across CR events as Head of Client Relations. She has many years of experience managing conferences and other corporate events within the legal and medical sectors. These events ranged from seminars for up to 350 delegates to glamorous award ceremonies with 900 attendees. Helen particularly enjoys meeting new people and building lasting relationships. She of course also loves to travel.

Melanie Hawgood
Melanie HawgoodVice President/Director Asia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Joined in 2022

As Vice President Asia, Melanie oversees relationships and activities across the wider Asia Pacific region for Currency Research. She brings over 20 years’ experience in Banking and Finance having held senior management roles with several major Australian Banks.

Based in Malaysia, Melanie works throughout South East Asia and beyond, working closely with Central Bank and Commercial partners to deliver on CR’s broad initiatives. Melanie has a strong interest in the payments industry with a particular focus on digital currency and payments.

Giulia Rossi
Giulia RossiDatabase Marketing Coordinator
London, United Kingdom
Joined in 2022

Giulia Rossi has joined Currency Research as Database Marketing Coordinator, overseeing Marketing email communications, and managing and maintaining the Database system. Prior to joining CR, Giulia acquired experience in both Marketing and Event management across multiple platforms and Regions.

 Shelley Jackson
Shelley JacksonVice President / Director, Operations & Marketing
Vancouver, Canada
Joined in 2019

Shelley Jackson has joined the CR team in the role of Operations & Marketing Director. Shelley brings extensive knowledge to the team with over 20 years of experience in Marketing, Events, Logistics, and Team Management. Her career has touched on various industries, with the most recent in the Wine Industry, living and working in China for 6 years. Interests are food, wine, travel, biking, hiking, and distance running.

Tom Mitchell
Tom MitchellVice President/Director EMEA, Currency Conference Co-Chair
Saline, United Kingdom
Joined in 2014

Tom has been with Currency Research (CR) since 2014, involved in a number of key engagement and operations roles particularly in the EMEA region, as well as managing a number of CR’s relationships for global premium events. Tom was appointed Vice President/Director in 2019, took over leadership of the EMEA ICCOS event in 2021 and was appointed Currency Conference Co-Chair in 2023. These roles see Tom regularly engaging with the largest companies, Financial Institutions and thought leaders in the digital and physical currency industries to help provide unparalleled networking, educational and promotional opportunities. Tom is also a co-host of the Cash News Podcast.

Prior to joining CR Tom worked in real estate and accountancy. Tom holds a Masters in Business Management from the University of Reading and a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Exeter.

Ana Osorio
Ana OsorioEvent Manager
Mexico City, Mexico
Joined in 2022

Ana Osorio has joined the Currency Research team an Event Manager. She is a passionate event organizer with a bachelor’s degree in hotel management and a speciality degree in Marketing. Since the beginning of her career, 8 years ago, Ana has organized multiple conferences in varying industries bringing with her a wide range of experience

Some of her interests include tennis, biking, and traveling.

Gonzalo Santamaria
Gonzalo SantamariaVice President / Director of Payments
Madrid, Spain
Joined in 2011

Gonzalo Santamaria is VP Payments and has led the payments business stream since 2015. He has honed much of his leadership skills and industry knowledge within a realm spanning more than 36 years of technical, commercial and managerial experience in the currency and payments sectors. He forged much of his background first in the technical, and consequently in the commercial/ business development streams within world-class technology companies in the industry. During these tenures, he successfully assisted in designing and implementing state-of-the-art automated currency vault solutions, cash management re-engineering including commercial cash processing patents, and supply chain optimization solutions.

Gonzalo holds a Degree in Computer Sciences & Electronics Technology.

Jens Seidl
Jens SeidlPresident / CEO
Frankfurt, Germany
Joined in 2018

Jens has been in the industry for 30 years with senior management roles in sales and marketing, operations, customer service, business development, and general management. During his time with both Thomas Cook and Travelex, he developed complex outsourcing propositions, building turnkey end-to-end solutions including client front-end systems, efficient fulfilment options, accurate interfacing with back office systems, and the provision of timely reporting.

During his career, Jens managed up to 18 global cash centers simultaneously and led a global wholesale banknotes business. He has significant experience in building and modernizing cash centers, running extensive transformation programs, and introducing new automation solutions, best demonstrated through his pivotal role in the Taxidia project. Jens led a number of major change programs throughout the years and managed teams of up to 450 people across five continents, generating revenues of several tens of millions of pounds.

Jens joined CR in 2018 as Vice President, Business Development and Consulting. In November 2020, he was appointed as President/CEO.

Michelle Moser
Michelle MoserFinance Manager
Boise, U.S.A.
Joined in 2022

Bio coming soon...

Chee Meng Tan
Chee Meng TanSenior Advisor
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Joined in 2009

Tan Chee Meng worked as an electronic design engineer for five years prior to joining the currency community 29 years ago. His currency experience started at the Central Bank of Malaysia where he gained a thorough understanding of high-speed sorting machines and the currency supply chain. In 1995 he joined Currency Systems International (CSI) to further enhance his knowledge in the field of high-speed currency processing and detection. Additionally, he ran an engineering and parts depot in Malaysia to service all of CSI’s customers in Asia.

When De La Rue acquired CSI in 2001, his knowledge in the industry expanded to include teller assist units, ATMs, substrates, and security features. Tan joined Currency Research in October 2009 as Managing Director of Asia and Middle East. Tan is currently the Secretary of the Asian Cash Management Association (ACMA).

Tan Chee Meng specializes in Cash Management Alternatives and is a regional expert in Asia on all sections of the cash cycle.

Sergio Sánchez
Sergio SánchezVice President / Director Americas
Mexico City, Mexico
Joined in 2023

Sergio Sánchez has more than 25 years of professional experience, with 18 years in Senior roles specializing in the Cash/Banknotes Industry.

He collaborated with highly regarded multinational corporations including Citigroup, De La Rue, G+D, and Permaquim , working closely with Central Banks, Issuing Banks/Authorities, Commercial Banks, Cash in Transit as well as Casinos and Retailers.

Sergio has been leading teams in LatAm markets delivering tailored solutions including Single Note Inspection systems, High-Medium speed processing equipment, Cash Management Software, and Cash Deposit-Recycler automation as well as Self-Service solutions to the Retail Industry.

He holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the Universidad Intercontinental in Mexico City. He has a profound interest in diverse payment methods and is focused on payment industry trends like CBDCs, open banking, fintechs, digital payments, etc.

Sergio is currently based in Mexico and his last assignment was in Santiago de Chile as Managing Director of Permaquim Chile SPA.

Jordan Taylor
Jordan TaylorSenior Editor, Central Bank Payments News
Richmond, U.S.A.
Joined in 2015

Jordan Taylor holds a degree in Philosophy as well as a Master's in Library and Information Science from the University of Southern California. Jordan provides support for a number of CR’s initiatives, but his main focus is research and editing for Central Bank Payments News (CBPN).

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Some Testimonials from our Sponsors

"We found the conference very interesting, there is a nice programme, a lot of delegates and very interesting speeches. The venue is nice, and we hope we have the opportunity to visit a similar area in this region, we are very interested in the middle Asian countries, so thank you for organising it and we definitely will be back."

IQ Structures, The Silk Road Cash & Payments Conference

"It has been a great pleasure being here and meeting many delegates from around the world and many central banks, as well as having our team members participate in panel sessions and presentations covering several topics. What we appreciate most about the Currency Research events is the prevalence of the valuable material and content compared to other conferences."

ProgressSoft, The Silk Road Cash & Payments Conference

"We are delighted to be here at the conference and we’re meeting with a great number of commercial and central banks and also payment companies. It is a great opportunity to talk about the growth of payment technology in the region. The opportunity to meet banks from different countries, new territories and talk about how we connect them through our infrastructure and other infrastructures globally I think is a great opportunity. It is great to see collaboration between private and public sector in action and it is a great opportunity to deep dive into the challenges of this region. An absolutely fantastic event."

RTGS.global, The Silk Road Cash & Payments Conference

"This conference is an incredible platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration. The panel discussions and presentations are truly insightful and present diverse perspectives on the future of money. This conference is also a fantastic opportunity to connect to industry leaders, exchange ideas, and contribute to the ongoing evolution of money. Finally, I would like to thank Currency Research for organising this conference and the participants for making this conference a remarkable experience."

ProgressSoft, The Currency Conference

"We are here in Mexico at The Currency Conference, and we just presented our new project called the “Absence of Everything” which is a new way to think about bank notes. We are really glad to be here with all the colleagues in the industry."

Bundesdruckerei, The Currency Conference

"Greetings from Mexico City, we are super happy to be back after four years, and we are also extremely happy to meet again with Central Banks and all the key players of the industry. This event is also much more than a get-together, it is probably one of the most changing parts that we have now in the cash industry with a shift to electronic payments and digital currencies is also changing or needs to change the model of cash circulation and cash recirculation. We are much more agile and also the availability of cash and the costs that need to be under control, that’s going to be the big challenge for the next twenty years."

PEC, The Currency Conference

"We are thrilled and proud to have been associated with the Currency Research Global Payments Summit. These last few days have been amazing, absolutely incredible, being in the beautiful city of Cape Town and surrounded by all of these really really smart payments people and talking about all of these wonderful innovations in the payments landscape. We are proud to be able to talk about the launch of the Paysharp Instant Payments System on this platform and to use this as an opportunity to engage and network with all of these global payments thought leaders. We are really proud to be associated and look forward to future engagements like this."

BankservAfrica, Central Bank Payments Conference & Global Payments Summit

"Greetings from Cape Town everyone. We have been one of the sponsors here at both events – The Central Bank Payments Conference and The Global Payments Summit. I have to say it has been the most excellent week, I guess it always helps a little when you end up in a location that you want to go to as an individual, that is always a nice start but sometimes you get there and the event itself, not so much. This has been truly an added value event for us, extremely well organised, and we were very pleased to be able to sponsor the conversations that we have had around our booth and in individual meetings have all been added value. So great to be here and congratulations Currency Research on two events extremely well organised and we look forward to participating in them again next year."

RTGS.global, Central Bank Payments Conference & Global Payments Summit

"We had a fascinating time here at the conferences, the kind of people we have interacted with were completely out of this world. The size of the conference allows you to interact with everybody and form relationships which I don’t think we could have formed otherwise. There were key people from the banks who we could interact with. It has been fantastic, we have met people not only from Africa but from all over the world, on many different continents. It has been an amazing possibility to build relationships and network with people from all around the world. We are really happy and we will be back."

Crunchfish, Central Bank Payments Conference & Global Payments Summit

"It has been an honour and a privilege for the Ripple CBDC team to attend the Digital Currency Conference this week in Mexico City. One of the great things about the conference is the opportunity to speak directly with Central Bankers and learn about the issues they are facing, and how they are trying to design CBDC applications that work for them. I was just in a session with Kwame from the Bank of Ghana and the lead from the Bank of Jamaica on their digital currency projects and that was just a fantastic experience. Thank you Currency Research for hosting us."

Ripple, The Digital Currency Conference

"I would like to thank Currency Research for another successful event in Bangkok this year, it has been great meeting old friends and new friends and getting the industry together in the region and of course from elsewhere, from Europe and the US as well. It was a very fruitful event; we had a lot of learnings and best practices to share. We would like to thank you and offer our support for the next event."

Brinks, The Asia Cash Cycle Seminar

"It was my pleasure to be a part of The Asia Cash Cycle Seminar, we managed to establish the right connections in order to achieve a synergy in the cash cycle process. It was delightful for me to see such a lot of new and old friends in our hometown of Bangkok. We’re looking forward to the next one."

RMA Group, The Asia Cash Cycle Seminar

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