A world without cash – barely conceivable for many people. To ensure that cash does not disappear, a national initiative has been launched in Switzerland to preserve coins and bills. The concern that cash will be suppressed and that part of personal freedom will be lost is too strong. At the ESTA conference, speakers and participants certainly did not share this fear. After all, the motto this year is “Cash is competitive”.
The future of cash
The last few years have been eventful on all levels. The way we deal with cash has also changed – and not just once. During the corona pandemic, contactless payment was hyped by politicians and society as the “safest means of payment.” As a result, cash payments have declined. The war in Ukraine, in turn, has led to a surge in cash demand in early 2022, according to ESTA organizers ahead of the business conference.
With this year’s motto, ESTA has thus set an example: Cash is competitive – through independence from payment service providers, efficient and automated processes, professional handling, and digital interfaces between cash-in-transit companies, banks, and retailers. However, things are about to change in the near future. That is why this year’s ESTA program was characterized by change and a look into the future.
ALVARA and the ESTA motto
This year’s ESTA motto is not new for us at ALVARA. We even add an assumption: Cash is competitive and will remain so in the future. After all, efficient, transparent and secure solutions can eliminate various current challenges faced by cash players and make cash management easier. The question of whether cash will disappear or not is less relevant to us.
Our focus: the development of new software solutions that optimize and digitize cash processes. We already offer a diverse portfolio for retailers, banks, and cash-in-transit companies. With each product, we master challenges such as increasing cost pressure, the complexity of individual cash processes, and the networking of players. You can find some examples here:
- – Digital receipt and cash messenger legitimization: paperless interaction on-site at the customer’s premises.
- – Competitive advantage thanks to application programming interfaces (APIs)
- – 3 players, 1 solution: how retailers, financial institutions or cash-in-transit providers benefit together from the ICC app
It goes without saying that we do not rest on our first successes. Suggestions from the industry such as at the ESTA Business Conference are helpful in identifying pain points and solving them together with customers.
Thank you for a successful event!
We would like to express our sincere gratitude for interesting insights, exciting talks, the international exhibition and discussion panels worth listening to. As in previous years, ESTA 2023 again provided an exciting program and a healthy mix of presentations, discussions and the exhibition booths. We are already looking forward to the next ESTA Business Conference with high-level speakers and numerous networking opportunities.
Cash is an important topic in your everyday work? Then let’s put our heads together for sustainable solutions!
