This presentation reports on selected results of the newly created Digital Payment Barometer for Belgium. As is the case in other countries, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a shift towards contactless and, to a lesser extent, mobile payments at the point-of-sale. But how has this affected consumers’ payment preferences and their attitude towards a possible cashless society?

The Covid 19 pandemic came as a surprise to the world.

This panel session will debate how well prepared central banks were to deal with the pandemic at the outset, what the main challenges were, and how they were overcome. The panelists will also discuss the key lessons learned and actions taken after nearly 2 years of the pandemic.

Payments are entering a new experience-driven era, ushered in by an accelerated transformation timeline due to Covid-19 and the growing digital appetite of customers. With the Asia Pacific region leading the global trend, the demand for digital payment options is greater than ever before, along with the expectations for fast transaction settlements, instant payments, e-money, failsafe security, and wow-factor customer experience.

This is the story of what 24 organisations across the cash cycle have done to reduce their environmental impact.  It looks at case studies across energy, carbon, plastics, water and more.  It demonstrate straightforward projects through to complex and significant changes. It considers staff projects, organisational change and co-operative working. It talks to the future but is based on what has been done.  It compares cash relative to alternative payments. It asks the audience what they are doing and invites them to 'steal with pride'.

Improving efficiency is an ongoing issue in a security printing plant in order to remain competitive in an increasingly contested market. In the summer of 2020, OeBS decided to launch a project to sustainably increase efficiency. This presentation sheds light on the background that led to this decision by OeBS and explains the goals to be achieved with this project. It also highlights the challenges that had to be overcome and shows where the project stands today and what the further planned steps are. 

The State Printing Works of Securities (SPWS) is a company with a history spanning 90 years, which has accompanied the printing of banknotes since its inception. The world is changing – and with it the SPWS, too. Banknotes still play an important role, but the SPWS has also expanded its product portfolio over the years to include identity documents and other securities, plus, most recently, digital services. Today, identity documents account for more than 65% of the SPWS’ production and the company has become the supplier of the entire solution. The digitalisation of identity documents is another of SPWS’ visions. The combination of classic security printing and digitalisation is the direction that the SPWS would like to take in the coming years.

What does Operational Excellence in the context of factory optimization according to Industry 4.0 mean for our industry? This presentation describes fundamental possibilities as well as the challenges and opportunities that can be achieved through available integration and automation potentials in production technology and the processes of high-security printing. Digital transformation as a driver for the development of new functionalities in the operational IT ecosystem is illustrated with reference to the specific requirements of the industry. Finally, recommendations are presented for a systematic approach to analyzing and designing individual solution approaches.

A holistic overview on the way to cradle-to-cradle processes from the waste streams point of view. Going from the environmental advantages and economical savings from the ultrafiltration of intaglio effluents and drying of the slurry into powder, over to possible further uses of valuable components in the powder. The importance of banknote design and treatment of effluents to close the sustainability cycle.

The presentation will examine the digitalization in modern printing works and how to make good use of all the data generated and collected during the printing process. In order to obtain the best results, it is key to design an IT architecture as clean as possible, where every component is located and designed in the correct way. Track & Trace, MES, ERP and all the other systems used for production should exchange data efficiently to provide decision makers with the information they need to improve the overall production efficiency.

« The Printer Forum » is a platform created for security printers to discuss production-related topics in a private setting. By sharing experiences and new ideas, an inspiring environment is created that helps participants gain new insights and turn them into action.

The agenda of « The Printer Forum» is as follows:

Online Print Approval: when face-to-face customer visitors are not possible, how can print sheets be reviewed online and approved for printing?

Remote technical support: how can technical problems on printing equipment be resolved when service personnel are unable to travel?

Efficiency & productivity: how can productivity and efficiency in the print room be improved?

Please note that the agenda of « The Printer Forum » will be subject to changes if necessary.

Please be advised that access to « The Printer Forum » is granted only to representatives of state printing works and World Banknote Summit partners operating a printing plant.

New ideas are essential to stay ahead in today’s fast-paced world, and with the payments landscape in a constant state of change, it’s vital that the cash industry thinks outside the box to stay competitive.

This presentation will put forward 8 ideas that can support cash in this environment. Are new operating models the answer? New technology, further collaboration, or could a few simple tweaks make a huge difference?

This presentation challenges the notion of a singular future and frames the much needed discussion around the future of cash not only as a technological issue, but as a societal question with fundamental implications for inclusion, equality, resilience, efficiency and privacy. Covid-19 has marked a notable return of more diverse futures thinking into organisations. It has highlighted the need to retain agency via identifying multiple plausible futures, recognizing different pathways and, importantly, imagining desirable societal futures.

It is well known that cash is being used less for day-to-day spending as people increasingly use cards or mobile phones to make payments, or are shopping more online and less on the high street. As in many areas of life, digital payment options are replacing traditional analogue payment methods. Let's explore how analogue money can enable digital payments.

A clear definition and a solid understanding of the term "Central Bank Digital Currency" is an indispensable basis for discussions on this topic.

In this presentation, the basics of retail CBDC will be examined from different perspectives and the relationship between different aspects will be explained.

Most central banks around the world are conducting studies or have a project about retail CBDC underway. This presentation gives an overview of the stage of the ongoing activities on this topic on a world-wide level.

One of the challenges retail CBDCs are facing are « offline » payments, i.e. how can a money transaction be executed when there is no internet connectivity, e.g. following a natural disaster. Offline payments can easily be achieved with banknotes, but it is rather challenging with digital money. Several initiatives are underway, to combine the advantages of the two and bridge the world between  banknotes and CBDC.

Most central banks around the world are working on a CBDC project, and a few have implemented a CBDC in their jurisdictions. No less important is the fact that almost all central banks confirm that CBDCs are not intended to replace cash but to complement it. Thus, the fundamental question is how will cash and CBDCs co-exist? This panel will address this question.