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Latest benchmarking
Volume of damaged notes withdrawn from circulation increases
Frequency of official fitness tests tends to have bearing on removals
One in five central banks to issue new banknotes next year
Third of respondents have seven denominations of banknotes in circulation
Reserve Benchmarks 2026 report – investing in uncertain times
Benchmarks highlight trend towards diversification, AI use and a modest response to tariffs
Number of banknote depots linked to cash cycle involvement
Public and private sectors jointly bear distribution costs in most jurisdictions
Mandatory cash acceptance not always backed by other policies
Benchmarking data suggests possible mismatch between demands on banks and merchants
Inter-bank working groups
Facilitating connections between central bankers across the globe to promote the exchange of expertise and support collaboration.
Upcoming meetings include: Cyber risk management, social media in communications and upgrading forecast models.
Model banks
Reserve Benchmarks 2026 – model banks analysis
Economics Benchmarks 2026 – model banks analysis
Supervision Benchmarks 2026 – model banks analysis
Payments Benchmarks 2026 – model banks analysis
Strategic Planning Benchmarks 2026 – model banks analysis
Governance Benchmarks 2026 – model banks analysis
Fintech Benchmarks 2026 – model banks analysis
Risk Management Benchmarks 2026 – model banks analysis
Communications Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Monetary Policy Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Reserve Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Financial Stability Benchmarks 2025 – model banks analysis
Charts
Cross-border liquidity
A significant share of the 81 central banks that responded to the reserve benchmarks do not have access to a cross-border liquidity line in any major currency. Dollar lines are the most common, but even here close to 60% of central banks are excluded.
The benchmarks this year include data on both swap lines and repo. The data shows that while US dollar and euro liquidity is almost evenly split between swaps and repo, renminbi liquidity is exclusively offered through swap lines.
Reports
Reserve Benchmarks 2026 report – investing in uncertain times
Economics Benchmarks 2026 report – advanced analytics
Supervision Benchmarks 2026 report – AI and data
Payments Benchmarks 2026 report – upgrades and alignment
Strategic Planning Benchmarks 2026 report – digital strategy
Governance Benchmarks 2026 – legal matters
Fintech Benchmarks 2026 report – the digital asset race
Risk Management Benchmarks 2026 report – tracking op risk
Cross-Benchmarks Staffing Report 2025: tackling shortages
Communications Benchmarks 2025 report – getting social
Cross-Benchmarks AI Report 2025: a question of creative destruction
Monetary Policy Benchmarks 2025 report – risk-based policy
Benchmarks
Communications
Currency
Economics
Financial Stability
Fintech
Governance
Monetary Policy
Payments
Reserves
Risk Management
Strategic Planning
Supervision
One-fifth of EMDE central banks actively discourage cash use
Digital payments are reducing cash demand, especially in advanced economies
Reserve Benchmarks 2026 – model banks analysis
Additional data breakdowns shed light on AI use, liquidity lines and FX interventions
Volume of cash in circulation averages less than 5bn notes
Proportion of payments made using cash averages 40% in past year
Printworks owners have seven times more cash staff
Currency departments generally more satisfied with non-staff resources than staffing