Last month, we reported the results of the European Commission's public consultation on its proposal to restrict cash payments as a means of reducing terrorist financing. The results showed that the overwhelming majority of stakeholders do not want cash restrictions, and do not believe that they would inhibit terrorist activity.

Foremost amongst these is the International Currency Association (ICA) which, through its 'Cash Matters' movement, has just published a white paper that broadens the scope of existing research and takes a global look at cash and crime.

The paper - 'Keeping Cash: Assessing the Arguments about Cash and Crime' was written by Dr. Ursula Dalinghaus, a postdoctoral scholar at the Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion (IMTFI) at the University of California, Irvine. It has drawn from a wide range of institutional, legal, academic, policy, media and other sources, as well as from experts in criminology and terrorist financing, banking, industry, and the social sciences. As such, it is the most comprehensive approach to the issue of cash and criminal or terrorist activities to date. Many of the sources cited in this paper have never been taken into consideration before, enabling fresh insights and new perspectives on the debate.

The white paper demonstrates there is little to no evidence to support the claim that eliminating high-denomination banknotes or restricting cash payments will prevent terrorist attacks. The study finds that targeting cash as a terror financing mechanism misidentifies the problem.

Weblink (subscription required): http://www.currency-news.com/issues/september-2017/

To download the complete white paper: http://blog.imtfi.uci.edu/2017/09/cash-is-not-crime-new-study-by-imtfi.html

Read Q&A with Dr. Dalinghaus here: http://www.cashmatters.org/blog/cash-matters-interview-with-dr-ursula-dalinghaus/