Local... With more and more people paying with credit cards and their smartphones, Denmark’s central bank Nationalbanken says it no longer pays to print banknotes or mint coins. By the end of 2016, Nationalbanken plans to outsource all of its printing and minting services to an external supplier.
“Although the amount of cash circulating in Denmark continues to be high, society’s demand for new banknotes and coins has been falling for years, and Nationalbanken has no expectations that the trend will be reversed,” the bank wrote in a press release.
In addition to the rise in alternative paying options, the central bank also said that today’s banknotes and coins are better recirculated into the economy and made of a better quality that ensures a longer shelf life. When viewed as a whole, the bank has determined that note and coin production is no a longer financially sound option.
The bank said that the move to an external supplier will result in a total savings of 100 million kroner ($17.2 million) through 2020.
In its statement, the bank stressed that having notes and coins produced externally would not affect the bank’s central role.
“Nationalbanken will continue to be the issuing authority for banknotes and coins and will maintain its expertise in the area of notes and coins. It is only the internal production of the notes and coins that will henceforth by done by external suppliers,” it wrote.
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The Local (news.denmark@thelocal.com)