Shaping the cash cycle of the future

Pascal Wicht is a strategic systems researcher and designer studying how societies adapt to technological, social and environmental transitions globally. A specialist in adoption and systemic change, his work examines the invisible architectures that shape trust, sovereignty and the circulation of value, with a particular focus on cash and its interactions with mobile money and fintech innovations, especially in the Global South.

In parallel to his international research and consulting work, he also teaches at the University of Lausanne and ECAL Art and Design School, where his courses connect strategic design, social sciences and future thinking to explore how infrastructure, economies and societies can evolve within planetary boundaries and strong social foundations.

Matthee le Cointre is strategist at Geldmaat, where he drives innovation across the cash value chain. He leads initiatives in payments strategy, exploring alternative transactions and digital currencies, and contributes to policy development around the digitale euro. His work includes strategic foresight on the future of cash, scenario planning, and shaping Geldmaat’s long-term positioning in the payments landscape.

Diederik Bruggink is Senior Director at the European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG) where he is responsible for all payments topics worldwide. In that role, he also advocates the associations’ positions on payments with policymakers, regulators, standardisation bodies, industry associations, and enabling a constant member dialogue on developments, with a particular focus on innovation. He is Chair of the Cash Efficiency Working Group of the European Payments Council (EPC) and he was co-chair of the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB) working group on access to and acceptance of cash. He is also a Member of the Board of the European Payments Council and he is a member of the European Commission’s Payments Systems Market Expert Group and he was a member of the European Central Bank’s Market Advisory Group on the Digital Euro, to name a few.

Ronan McClintock is a Manager at the Bank of England on the Wholesale Cash Oversight team. He has worked in Notes Directorate for over 20 years starting in research, design and manufacturing working closely on the transition to polymer banknotes. More recently he has worked on the future arrangements for wholesale cash distribution in the UK. Before joining the Bank of England, Ronan earned a BSc in Physics from the University of Nottingham.

Barry is student of the evolution and economics of payments and cash, the fundamentals which drive cash behaviour and economics, and works to apply this to make a difference at the intersection of traditional payments, emerging payments and cash. He has been involved in the industry since 2002, for 15 years with Standard Bank as Head: Cash Services.

In 2018 he started Rohrs and Associates and advises Cash Ecosystem participants (Fintechs, Banks, Cash In Transit companies). Barry participates in industry think tanks and assist clients optimising payments and cash operations and developing new solutions at the intersection of cash and digital.

He maintains an extensive network in the cash industry across Africa and internationally.

Alejandro Zamora-Pérez is an economist at the European Central Bank and the Chair of the European Research Network on Currency Analysis (EURECA), a central-bank network advancing research on physical currency. His work focuses on the demand for physical currency, access to cash and payment inclusion, and central bank digital currency (CBDC). His publications have been referenced in analyses for the European Parliament, the European Commission, the OECD and European national authorities, and covered by major international media outlets such as the Financial Times, The Economist and CNN.

Graham joined LINK in 2006 and is currently Director of Strategy. This also covers initiatives like the future of cash, and interchange, as well as external relations, public affairs, fraud management, physical ATM crime and liaison with LINK’s Members. During the coronavirus pandemic a large part of Graham’s role has been the analysis of consumers cash and ATM use, helping LINK develop the best responses to a fast-moving crisis.

External relations remains a key element of Graham’s role, leading LINK’s liaison a wide range of organisations such as the Government, the Bank of England, Treasury as well as contacts with police, service suppliers, local authorities and regulators such as the Payments System Regulator (PSR) and consumer and charity groups.

Graham was formerly Head of ATMs at Santander during which time he was a LINK Board Director and also worked for several years with cahoot, the on-line bank. He has an MBA from Warwick University, completing a dissertation on the future of financial services over the Internet.

He is married and lives in Buckinghamshire, England.