War on Cash – Money and more

Clash between banks and cash industry casts dark shadow on ECB’s “cash strategy”

03. 05. 2021 | As part of its rather secretly “announced” cash strategy, the European Central Bank (ECB) has commissioned a working group of interested organizations to catalogue problems of the cash cycle. A clash between banks and the cash industry association is casting doubt on the sincerity of the endeavour.

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How Mastercard invented the health hazard of cash

12 March 2021 | During the corona crisis, Mastercard has been busy peddling the claim that cash poses a major health threat. But this is a campaign that’s been going on for at least eight years. Hakon von Holst took a closer look at its beginnings. At the center: media that trumpet any interest-driven trash that someone calls a study and gives it a snappy headline.

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Cash industry association ESTA comments on legal tender ruling of the European Court of Justice

4 February 2021 | The European association of cash handling companies ESTA has issued an opinion on the ruling of the European Court of Justice in my case concerning the right to pay my fees to the public broadcaster in cash. They agree with me that the main justification of the court for postulating that the obligation to accept the legal tender can be restricted by national and sub-national lawmakers is severely flawed. Continue reading “Cash industry association ESTA comments on legal tender ruling of the European Court of Justice” →

The ECB has quietly adopted a “cash strategy” – my interpretation

8 December 2020 |The European Central Bank (ECB) has quietly published a “cash strategy“ of the Eurosystem that the Governing Council had adopted already in early September. The commitment to cash seems half-hearted at best and suggests an internal struggle.

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The ECB would (not really) like to know your opinion on the digital euro – let them know

18 November 2020 | The European Central Bank (ECB) is currently asking citizens and (especially) the financial and tech industries how they would like to see the digital euro that the ECB is working on. In bad EU tradition, it is not asking whether we would like it at all. But the survey offers fields where you can tell them anyway.

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All the good things a digital euro could do – and all the bad things it will

10. 11. 2020 | Few other documents have been sent to me as often as the recent deliberations of the European Central Bank (ECB) on a digital euro. There is obviously a great deal of suspicion with regard to plans of a digital euro. The following analysis will try to answer the question if this suspicion is justified.

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Cash industry association ESTA contradicts EU Advocate General on the right to pay in cash

27. 10. 2020 | ESTA, the association of European cash management companies, has published a position paper contradicting the assessment of the EU Advocate General of my case before the European Court of Justice regarding the right to pay my broadcasting fee with the legal tender, cash.

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