The fear that banknotes can transmit the coronavirus will increase digital payments, even if the risks of transmission of the infection are less than those of typing the pin of the card which, to be sure, should be contactless. This was stated in a paper by the Bri, the 'central bank of central banks' based in Basel according to which the increase in the use of digital "could open a furrow in access to payment instruments and negatively impact on the elderly and those who do not have a checking account. "
In particular, the paper notes that in order to restore confidence in cash, some "central banks such as the Bank of England, the Bundesbank, the Bankf of Canada or that of South Africa are communicating that they continue to accept cash and, in some cases (such as central bank of China) are committed to sterilizing and quarantining banknotes "while others" are encouraging contactless payments ". Looking ahead the two writers of the paper, they note how the situation could "accelerate the change towards digital payments".
In past crises, the paper notes, "the demand for cash often increased because consumers were looking for a stable store of value and a medium of exchange. But currently the situation is differentiated from country to country. In the US, the circulation of cash has increased while the withdrawals from ATMs in Great Britain have collapsed. In the medium term, a more cautious use of cash and a structural increase in the use of online payments, by card or smartphone, can be expected "but with a different trend between country and class of consumers. This can have a negative impact, notes the paper, on those who do not have a current account or on older people and places central banks facing the challenge of making payment networks safe in the face of threats from hackers and technical problems.