AUSTRALIA: A report released by the Reserve Bank showed Australians made 30,859,700 ATM cash withdrawals in February, up 3.6% compared to February 2023.
IRELAND: The Irish Multiplex Cinemas, Ireland's largest cinema chain, is still refusing to accept cash in its flagship venue despite receiving a Government grant to attract new customers.
RUSSIA: The governor of the Bank of Russia has suggested a gradual transition to digital ruble adoption. Significant scaling is projected post-2025 and mass usage is estimated to span five to seven years.
India's #CBDC , the e-Rupee, has trended downward since Dec 2023 & transaction rates were only helped by banks disbursing employee benefits as digital rupees.
That's basically all CBDCs are - hype. Cash still rules in #India for most people.
AUSTRALIA: The Australian Senate has passed a Digital ID Bill, which sets up Australia’s first digital identity scheme to roll out to the private sector and states and territories.
UK: A new lobby group called Basic Income for Farmers (BI4Farmers) has set out the case for a so-called Universal Basic Income (UBI) payment in a new report.
USA: The Supreme Court rejected an appeal from a former AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals employee fired in 2022 for not taking the COVID-19 shot, which she declined on religious grounds.
IRELAND: The Irish Daily Mail has revealed that the Coalition is planning to subsidise private providers of ATMs and cash-in-transit vans to ensure they provide access to cash for people in rural Ireland.
USA: The Federal Trade Commission has blocked plans for a new technology that could analyze a user's face to determine their age, preventing minors from accessing certain games and features.