We provide an update on the impact the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand for cash and the use of methods of payment based on data from the Bank Note Distribution System and from consumer surveys conducted in April and August 2021. Our key findings are as follows: Cash in circulation remained high...

Current literature on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) generally focuses on regulatory issues in the domestic context. This paper discusses the challenges when a CBDC circulates across national borders. It addresses three cross-border spillover effects of the CBDC: the crowding out effect...

Consumer spending declined significantly during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. This negative shock likely reduced spending across all methods of payment (cash, debit, credit, etc.). As well, the mix of payment methods that consumers use could also be affected. This paper is a first step in...

We conduct a follow-up to Chen et al. (2020) and study demand for and use of cash after the containment measures imposed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic were relaxed during the summer of 2020. We find that bank notes in circulation continued to rise in July due to ongoing cash...

In this paper, we investigate non-linear linkages between Bitcoin and the unconventional monetary policies of the European Central Bank (ECB). In particular, we examine whether a low-interest rate environment resulting from QE indirectly encourages investors to move towards Bitcoin. Using a...