Bank notes

• Cash and COVID-19: The Effects of Lifting Containment Measures on Cash Demand and Use

  Staff Discussion Paper 2021-3 Heng Chen, Walter Engert, Kim Huynh, Gradon Nicholls, Julia Zhu

  Using Bank Note Distribution System data on the demand for cash up to September 2020, we find that demand was strong. This is true even though cash use for payments declined early in the pandemic. When mobility restrictions and lockdown measures were eased, cash use for payments increased sharply but remained less popular than electronic methods of payment.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Central bank research, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, C9, E, E4, O, O5, O54
• February 10, 2021

  Changing how we pay

  Speech summary Timothy Lane Institute for Data Valorisation Montréal, Quebec

  Deputy Governor Timothy Lane discusses how the pandemic has accelerated the digitalization of the economy.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Speech summaries Topic(s): Bank notes, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Cryptocurrencies, Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems
• February 10, 2021

  Payments innovation beyond the pandemic

  Remarks (delivered virtually) Timothy Lane Institute for Data Valorisation Montréal, Quebec

  Deputy Governor Timothy Lane talks about how the Bank of Canada is contributing to the modernization of our payments ecosystem, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to make payments more convenient for all Canadians.

  Content Type(s): Press, Speeches and appearances, Remarks Topic(s): Bank notes, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Cryptocurrencies, Digital currencies and fintech, Payment clearing and settlement systems

• Distributional Effects of Payment Card Pricing and Merchant Cost Pass-through in Canada and the United States

  Staff Working Paper 2021-8 Marie-Hélène Felt, Fumiko Hayashi, Joanna Stavins, Angelika Welte

  Although credit cards are more expensive for merchants to accept than cash or debit cards, merchants typically pass through their costs evenly to all customers. Along with consumer card rewards and banking fees, this creates cross-subsidies between payment methods. Because higher-income individuals tend to use credit cards more than those with lower incomes, our results indicate that these cross-subsidies might lead to regressive distributional effects.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Financial institutions, Financial services, Market structure and pricing, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, D2, D23, D3, D31, E, E4, E42, G, G2, G21, L, L8, L81
• January 1, 2021

  About legal tender

  Find out what “legal tender” means, why legal tender status changes, and how to redeem older bank notes.

  Content Type(s): Background materials Topic(s): Bank notes

• Losing Contact: The Impact of Contactless Payments on Cash Usage

  Staff Working Paper 2020-56 Marie-Hélène Felt

  Contactless payment cards are a competitive alternative to cash. Using Canadian panel data from 2010 to 2017, this study investigates whether contactless credit cards are an important contributor to the decline in the transactional use of cash. 

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods, Financial services JEL Code(s): C, C3, C33, D, D1, D12, E, E4, E41
• November 9, 2020

  Bank of Canada announces short list for next $5 bank note

  Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario

  The Bank of Canada today announced that the independent Advisory Council has selected a short list of eight iconic Canadians who could be featured on the next $5 bank note.

  Content Type(s): Press, Press releases Topic(s): Bank notes

• 2019 Cash Alternative Survey Results

  Staff Discussion Paper 2020-8 Kim Huynh, Gradon Nicholls, Mitchell Nicholson

  The role of cash in Canadians’ lives has been evolving, as innovations in digital payments have become more widely adopted over the past decade. We contribute to the Bank of Canada’s research on central bank digital currency by monitoring Canadians’ use of cash and their adoption of digital payment methods.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, C9, E, E4, O, O5, O51

• Survival Analysis of Bank Note Circulation: Fitness, Network Structure and Machine Learning

  Staff Working Paper 2020-33 Diego Rojas, Juan Estrada, Kim Huynh, David T. Jacho-Chávez

  Using the Bank of Canada's Currency Information Management Strategy, we analyze the network structure traced by a bank note’s travel in circulation and find that the denomination of the bank note is important in our potential understanding of the demand and use of cash.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Econometric and statistical methods, Payment clearing and settlement systems JEL Code(s): C, C5, C52, C6, C65, C8, C81, E, E4, E42, E5, E51

• Cash and COVID-19: The impact of the pandemic on demand for and use of cash

  Staff Discussion Paper 2020-6 Heng Chen, Walter Engert, Kim Huynh, Gradon Nicholls, Mitchell Nicholson, Julia Zhu

  Consumer spending declined significantly during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This negative shock likely reduced spending across all methods of payment (cash, debit, credit, etc.). The mix of payment methods consumers use could also be affected. We study how the pandemic has influenced the demand for and use of cash. We also offer insights into the use of other payment methods, such as debit and credit cards.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Topic(s): Bank notes, Central bank research, Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods JEL Code(s): C, C1, C12, C9, E, E4, O, O5, O54