Digital access continues to expand. The World Bank's Global Findex 2025 reports that global adult account ownership reached 79% using 2024 data, compared with 51% in 2011. Across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, current central-bank publications also show strong growth in financial access and electronic payments.
Cash circulation has not followed a simple downward line. The ECB reported that euro banknotes in circulation reached EUR 1.6195 trillion and 31.3 billion notes at the end of 2025, both new highs. The Federal Reserve reported USD 2.3949 trillion in US currency in circulation at the end of 2025.
Circulation value is not the same as transaction share: cash may be used for payments, precautionary holdings, savings, or international demand. The evidence therefore supports a careful conclusion. Digital payments can grow rapidly while physical currency remains a significant infrastructure responsibility.
For cash operators, the priority shifts from defending cash as a payment choice to running the required infrastructure with better control. Authentication, fitness, resilience, reconciliation, replenishment, service, and auditability remain board-level operating questions even as transaction mixes change.