ESTA Conference Athens, Greece, 1-3 June 2014

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Limited number of rooms at conference venue Divani Caravel Hotel (5 star). Special deal with the hotel only lasts till 31 March.

Paul Hughes, 10 Meters of Thinking - Professional Moderator

10 meters of thinking will get us started at the conference. With a visual and oral experience on paper, Paul Hughes will unravel the meaning of innovation. Through diagrams and storytelling he will analyse the past, clarify our present and take us through actively creating the future we want by innovation. tenmetersofthinking.com

CIT Solutions and Panel Discussion

Our focus on Day 1 of the conference will be CIT solutions and discussion with the audience, moderated by Paul Hughes.

Nokas & ATMs - Kjetil Ellestad
Prosegur services for Banks - Achim Boers
Brink’s Automated cashier positions for major retailers - Patrice Moreau
G4S – Innovations in the Greek cash market - Alistair Fowler-Marson
COOP innovations with Loomis - Anders Jonasson

Security - What works

Day 2 of the conference is about the security successes of our members. Moderating will be Tony Smillie and the speakers are:
Prosegur: Foam in trucks – Achim Boers
Loomis: Fishnet in cash centres – Mikael Hanson
Brink’s: Fog in cash centres - François Lagniez
G4S: Tracking devices in cassettes – Andy Cruikshank

Insurance Panel

This year a panel discussion will be the format for a lively discussion on our insurance issues:
• Why are premiums so high?
• Understanding our business
• Shared Punishment: why does a loss to one operator mean I pay a higher premium?
• Insurance cover: why can every operator - good or bad - obtain terms?
• Physical cash vs non-physical cover
• Cyber cover and cyber exclusions
• Owners fraud exclusions vs reality
Tony Smillie, Chair of ESTA Security Working Group is the moderator, and underwriters and brokers will be represented on the panel by: Philip Turner, Neal Watson, Jason Kyd and Joshila Taylor.

ESTA News

New Vision statement for ESTA

ESTA’s Board of Directors decided last month to re-visit the ESTA vision statement. Our new vision, recently published on the website is this:
ESTA is the European association of Cash Management companies. Our vision is to be the recognized voice of the industry ensuring that cash is safe, reliable, available and the most efficient means of payment. Read more

New Working Group: Communications

A new working group is being created: Communications. The aim of this group will be to develop a new and pro-active strategy for ESTA’s communication and image.

ECB News

Card fraud increased in 2012

• €1 in every €2,635 spent on credit and debit cards was lost to fraud
• There are more fraudulent internet transactions, in line with the strong growth of online sales
• Industry should continue enhancing security features, in particular for online sales
Read more Third report on card fraud, by ECB

Cash in circulation (ECB)

This is the latest information published by the European Central Bank showing cash in circulation.
The total number of Euro banknotes in circulation in 2012 stood at 15,687 million, with a value of €912.6 billion, an increase of 4.9% in volume and an increase of 2.7% in value since 2011. Between 2012 and the end of 2013, there was another increase of 5.25% in volume and an increase of 4.7% in value.

In 2012 the total number of Euro coins in circulation grew to 102,032 million, and their value increased to €23,658 million, an increase of 4.3% and 2.5% respectively since 2011. Comparing 2012 with 2013 there was an increase of 3.8% in volume and 2.3% in value.

Click on graph to access detailed info on low and high denomination banknotes and coins
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Source: European Central Bank

From the Media

Competition for new customers drives growth in European cards market

According to RBR’s report “Payment Cards Issuing and Acquiring Europe 2014”, there was a 20% rise in the number of cards in circulation between 2008 and 2012 (to reach 1.4 billion) and a 40% increase in payments over the same period, as consumers used their cards more frequently for everyday purchases. Central and eastern Europe (CEE) accounted for two thirds of new cards across the region between 2008 and 2012, with the number of cards in Russia alone doubling to 240 million.

The RBR survey predicts that the European cards market will continue to grow, even in the face of newer payment methods such as contactless cards, for several years to come.
Source: RBR, www.rbrlondon.com

Commercial cards held back by economic uncertainty

42 million commercial cards were in issue in the 15 largest markets in Europe at the end of 2012, up 9% since 2010. However, RBR forecasts the number of cards to rise at a modest 4% per year between 2012 and 2018 due to concerns over employee spending and economic uncertainty.

Debit and prepaid sectors set to grow

Debit and prepaid cards, which currently represent 19% and 1% of the commercial cards sector respectively, are expected to become more common, as businesses regard them as a means to reduce costs and control employee spending.
Source: www.rbrlondon.com/reports/commercialcards

Asia leads the way as growth in global ATM market accelerates

The number of ATMs installed worldwide increased by more than 180,000 during 2012 to reach 2.6 million at the end of the year. The global market grew faster in 2012 than in either 2011 or 2010.
Western Europe and North America have both seen slower growth in recent years as markets in those regions have matured. Source: RBR, www.rbrlondon.com

Cross-border payment behaviour of Dutch consumers 2012

A DNB survey shows that the Dutch frequently use their debit cards, also when abroad. The debit card tends to be the preferred means of payment at fuelling stations, in supermarkets, for accommodation and for larger purchases generally. In many other situations, however, cash is still used most frequently.
Source: Cross-border payment behaviour of Dutch consumers 2012, published by the De Nederlandsche Bank

Cash Management and Payment Choices: A Simulation Model with International Comparisons

Despite various payment innovations, today, cash is still heavily used to pay for low-value purchases. The De Nederlandsche Bank paper tests the assumption that cash is still the most efficient payment instrument, and the idea that people hold cash for precautionary reasons when facing uncertainty about their future purchases.
Source: De Nederlandsche Bank, www.dnb.nl

Loss of free banking - banking behaviour changed

In their market research findings from February 2014 ”Banking & Consumer Behaviour”, the Ireland National Consumer Agency shows that 34% of current account holders have had their “free” banking withdrawn in the past 12 months.
The key behavioural changes from losing free banking are: taking out more cash on each withdrawal (28%), using debit cards less often (25%) and using credit cards more for routine transactions (13%).
Source: www.consumerhelp.ie

Many thanks to ESTA's exhibitors and sponsors of the 2014 conference in Athens, Greece, 1-3 June.