Declining cash usage is one of the main reasons why central banks have considered issuing a virtual currency or CBDC.
Ida Wolden Bache, deputy governor at Norges Bank, the nation’s central bank, revealed (during a recent speech at a payments conference in Oslo) that the declining use of cash in the country was uncovered in a study performed during the COVID-19 pandemic (around three weeks ago).
Bache noted:
“Only 4% of payments are now made using cash. This share is approximately the same as in spring, and considerably lower than before the pandemic. To our knowledge, the share of cash payments is lower in Norway than in any other country.”
