Central banks are facing unprecedented new pressures: on the one hand from the rising costs of banknote production and management and on the other, from the general drive towards digitalization and the “less-cash" society; and all in a pervading climate of public sector accountability. As a result, many are redefining their role in the cash cycle.
Globally cash cycle models at central banks are being reengineered. The impact of these changes is being felt across the board, from infrastructure through to currency department competencies and the roles of different partners and third parties across the value chain.
A growing number of central banks have access to serial number data on their banknote sorting machines, making it possible to move beyond traditional aggregated data techniques and run both big data and data analytic software. When this happens, the use of averages, with the resulting margins of error, compared with tracking actual banknotes using their serial numbers, is not necessary.
