Koenig & Bauer Publishes White Paper on Role of Banknotes

White paper to raise awareness of essential role of physical cash in developing financial literacy among young people; summary of independent research findings; analysis of potential systemic consequences of digital payment upturn; first in a series of 3 planned publications as part of ‘Making Banknotes do More in Society’ initiative

Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions – a global provider of high security printing, especially for banknote solutions – has published a detailed white paper to create awareness of the essential role played by physical cash in the development of youth money skills.

The white paper summarises the significant and recent body of research on both the educational value of physical money during childhood – a time when core life-skills are acquired – and how physical cash fosters responsible financial attitudes, habits, and behaviour in adult life.

The publication also analyses what happens when physical cash is replaced by digital payment tools during childhood learning and draws some surprising, evidence-based conclusions on the systemic risk that is evolving in society, as digital payments gain ground across all age groups.

With this white paper, Koenig & Bauer aims to initiate a new conversation around cash by clearly showing that the value physical cash brings to society goes far beyond its role as an inclusive enabler of payments. It also provides fresh insights on the relationships between financial inclusion, financial literacy, and digital literacy, by highlighting the high degree of interconnectivity between these three themes that are frequently addressed as separate subjects.

Sina Grebrodt, Senior Strategic Initiatives Expert, External, Central Bank Solutions at Koenig & Bauer, explains, “This white paper is aimed at creating awareness of the scale and scope of the global financial literacy challenge, its impact on the individual, families, communities, and society, and most importantly, how we can do more to help. The publication helps us convert problems into actionable solutions by understanding the irreplaceable role of cash in society where it is not just about payments. It is about life, learning, resilience, inclusion, and choice – and these values are shared across generations. This fact puts our community in a unique position to leverage the actual item that connects us with current and future generations of cash users to help empower and improve their lives – banknotes.”

Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions CEO Eric Boissonnas adds, “As part of our ‘Making Banknotes do More in Society’ initiative, we have been exploring other ways that banknotes create positive impact in society. By reviewing research and data on how and why cash enables us to manage our finances more effectively, we can extract components that can easily be introduced into youth learning and development programmes worldwide. The white paper clearly demonstrates how early childhood interactions with cash via play, pocket money, saving, and other activities directly contributes to the development of responsible and sustainable financial attitudes and behaviour in adult life. We need to expand our thinking around the wider role of cash in people’s lives and how it plays a vital role in economic empowerment, employment, education, independence, equality, and quality of life improvement.”

The recently published white paper is the first in a series of three white papers aiming to federate and inform the global cash community on the subject of financial literacy. It is the beginning of a story that will resonate powerfully around the globe as further chapters are gradually unveiled. The publication provides a clear definition of the problem, an innovative approach to a solution, and an explanation of the impact, as well as independent analysis and expert insights on the role of banknotes in financial competency development.

Founded as Organisation Giori in 1952, Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions has been part of Koenig & Bauer Group since 2001.

The whitepaper is available for download here.