Could cash still be king?

In 2024, cash is quickly becoming a less prominent feature of our everyday lives. In the UK at least, it is very rare to pay with physical currency; even market traders now have card readers! The days of carrying a wallet full of paper notes certainly feels firmly in the past despite a general feeling that a cashless society should not be in our future.

Perhaps in the UK our notes are just a bit boring? It’s great that they celebrate prominent historical figures, but you can hardly call their design gorgeous, even with all their anti-forgery details. Many countries (and even cities) however take their bank note designs to another level.

Swiss Francs (2019-)

Zimbabwe One Hundred Trillion Dollars (2008)

Bhutanese Ngultrum (2019-)

Australian Dollars

Maldivian Rufiyaa (2015-)

Ugandan Shillings (2020-)

Norwegian Kroner (2017-)

Costa Rica Colones (2011-)

Bristol Pound (2012-2021)

Aruban Florin (2003)