Evidence from central banks worldwide on how cash demand is really changing, and what that means for currency policy, production planning and the resilience of national payment systems.

Established by Currency Research with currency practitioners from four central banks:
Bank of Ghana • Central Bank of Kenya • Bank of Namibia • South African Reserve Bank

Open for responses

 Join the next round of data collection

Central banks are invited to contribute to the next round. The questionnaire is a fillable PDF that takes around 20 minutes to complete, and responses are reported in aggregate only, never attributed to a named institution.

Fillable PDF, open to central banks and monetary authorities

Published report

Get the CRSI Survey Report, See what it covers

The full findings from 37 central banks: cash in circulation trends, digital adoption, distribution pressures and each institution’s outlook to 2030, with regional comparisons.

Mature economies are widely said to be moving away from cash, in a steady and sometimes accelerating decline, and that has shaped a global narrative in which physical currency is quietly replaced by digital payments. But does that narrative match the data? The Cash Resilience Strategy Initiative set out to test it against evidence from the economies where it is least likely to apply.

The first survey was distributed to central banks worldwide ahead of the Banknote Conference 2026 in Washington DC. Thirty-seven central banks took part, across Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, making it one of the most geographically diverse studies of its kind. What they reported does not follow a single trajectory.

The initiative continues with a second round of data collection. Central banks that take part receive the aggregated findings ahead of publication.