CASH-IN-TRANSIT
mitigated when business owners choose to use robust cash vaults,” says Mr Phillips. “Cash Connect’s goal is to enable cashdriven businesses to operate in a safe trading environment. Against a growth of 37 per cent cash vaults deployed in the comparable year ending February 2019, only 3 per cent of our clients experienced an attack. Of these, 80 per cent of the armed robbery attacks and 84 per cent of bomb attacks against our clients were successfully defended.” Bank robberies have shown a significant decline of 69 per cent with only 4 incidents. As much as the banking sector has improved its security, organised criminals are skilled and professional. Their modus operandi includes; meticulous planning for flawless execution, and they act with military precision – no wonder their brazen use of automatic weapons, bombing of ATMs, cash vans or cash vaults, are all part of normal activity. Attacks against the fuel retail industry
decreased by just over 3 per cent in the same year ending February 2019. “We are pleased with the near 46 per cent decline in attacks on cash devices at fuel station forecourts in the first eight months of this year, this proves a multi-faceted approach to tackling the scourge of violent crime in our sector,” says Reggie Sibiya, the CEO of the Fuel Retailers Association.
But, what needs to be done? With approximately R140billion circulating in South Africa at any given time, cash crime is still a serious problem and we can’t afford to become complacent. “Government and law enforcement have made some progress in reducing cash crime attacks across the country,” says Mark Templemore-Walters, operations director of Cash Connect. “There has also been a positive uptake in the number of retailers turning to cash vault automation. We can only hope that we can continue to win the support of more
and more retailers to help mitigate retail cash crime, particularly as the festive season approaches,” adds Mr Templemore-Walters. For more information on the latest #CrimeStats and tips for retailers to reduce your risk for an armed robbery go to https:// crimestatssouthafrica.co.za.
Virtually irreplaceable
Cash is a public good Cash Matters, a movement by the International Currency Association (ICA), issued a study that makes the case for cash as a public good: “Virtually Irreplaceable: Cash as Public Infrastructure.”
T
he paper by Dr. Ursula Dalinghaus, Visiting Professor of Anthropology at Ripon College and affiliated scholar at the Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion (IMTFI) University of California, takes a close look at the role of cash in society and the specific characteristics making it a public good, citing relevant studies, scholars and field experiments. “Cash in circulation is growing on a global scale by approximately 3% per year; 80% of all payments worldwide are cash transactions. Cash is an essential part of every stable financial and economic system”, stated ICA Chairman Wolfram Seidemann. “This paper demonstrates that cash is more than just a means of payment. It is a public good, part of modern life and vital for people’s everyday lives.”
The paper comes to the following conclusions: • Cash is a public good that guarantees ease of use, accessibility, privacy, and many
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other unique qualities in local, national, and global monetary systems. Cash fulfills both criteria for a public good: it is nonexcludable because its function as a means of payment, of transfer of value, works without compensation. And it is nonrivalrous because its use by one person does not preclude its use by another. • Cash is public – the only form of money not controlled by a private, profit-driven entity. Once in circulation, it is the only form of payment independent of its issuer. It is deployed not to make a profit on its transfer but to support and sustain value transfers free of charge. There may be costs associated with cash, but cash itself is a means of value transfer that settles at face value with no fees involved. • Cash enables personal freedom and self-determination – state-issued physical cash is a distributed public infrastructure that allows citizens and users to create a space outside the state. At the same time, cash acts as a claim upon central banks and, ultimately, states to ensure
good governance of monetary and payment systems. • The materiality of cash is vital to many social practices. The role cash plays in social relationships often hinges on the physical design of cash, such as denomination, which makes cash particularly useful for budgeting, accounting, gifting, or saving. “The IMTFI has a stellar reputation, and we were very pleased when they consented to an academic evaluation of the role of cash in societies. This paper draws on global studies, data and facts, and provides an excellent resource for all stakeholders”, explained Andrea Nitsche, chair of Cash Matters. “Our study casts fresh light on the discussion around cash as a means of empowerment of citizens and consumers in society. Many of the scholars and experts cited are economists or central bank experts. However, there is also the anthropological point of view which makes for some surprising insights, and serves to illustrate the theses in this paper with examples from the daily lives of people across the globe.”
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