According to banknote maker De La Rue, demand for banknotes worldwide is at its lowest level in 20 years.
Based in the United Kingdom, De La Rue designs a third of banknotes globally. The company said demand for cash has fallen since the pandemic when central banks worldwide stocked up on currency.
“The demand for banknotes has been at the lowest levels for over 20 years, resulting in a low order book going into the fiscal year 2024,” De La Rue said in a trading update.
“So we expected a downturn, which has indeed happened, but that downturn is probably extending deeper and probably for an extra nine-12 months than we expect in the normal cycle of things,” De La Rue’s boss, Clive Vacher, told the BBC.