ALVARA Blog

Over the course of the year, our team experiences a variety of highlights. Exciting customer projects, new product developments and enhancements, and newly established business partnerships are just three examples. However, one event is always at the very top – and firmly set: our BargeldDialog Retail. For the 19th time, we are delighted to invite our customers and interested parties from the retail sector to come together and engage in discussion.

When an ATM goes out of service, a time-consuming and inefficient process often begins: phone calls, emails, follow-ups. Information is passed on multiple times, sometimes incomplete, sometimes delayed. The responsible service provider is notified, has to ask follow-up questions, prioritize, and schedule resources. Valuable time passes before it is clear who will do what and when. Meanwhile, the machine remains out of order. With digital incident management, this would quickly change.

Have you ever wondered whether cash can do more? Gerrit Stehle has asked himself this question in depth and answers it today with a confident “Yes, absolutely!” Thanks to the individual serial numbers, banknotes can be used for investigations, plausibility checks, and the analysis of cash flows. In this interview, we speak with the CEO of Elephant & Castle IP GmbH about how a digital inventory of serial numbers works in practice, what opportunities the technology offers, and whether existing data protection concerns are actually justified.

Every banknote has one. It is unique and consists of two letters and a ten-digit number sequence. We are talking about the serial number, which is located in the upper right corner on the reverse side. Those who know how to read it can determine which central bank commissioned the printing. But it is not only its origin that can be traced this way. The key term is digital inventory. This article provides an initial overview of what this can achieve, what it explicitly does not capture, and which meaningful use cases serial numbers offer as individual identifiers.

The holidays are over, everyday life is slowly returning. And there is time to take a deeper look at the new year. Are new trends emerging? Is swift action required to avoid falling behind the competition right at the start of the year? We have summarized what 2026 has in store for cash management.

Cash Is Changing – and so are all industries involved in the cash cycle. Topics such as digitalization, increasing regulation, and structural shifts are shaping the market. As a result, many cash-in-transit and value service providers are asking themselves how they can remain competitive and, if necessary, reposition themselves. At the turn of the year, we spoke with Dr. Markus Lehnert, Managing Director of BS Beck Sicherheitsdienst GmbH & Co. KG. His outlook for 2026: positive!

“Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how green your branches!” Before we say goodbye to gather beneath the sparkling Christmas tree with family and friends, let’s pause for a moment and look back on the year. After all, 2025 has gifted us many wonderful moments.

Cash-in-transit service providers face various challenges: regulatory requirements are increasing, artificial intelligence and e-mobility are becoming equally important, and cost pressure continues to rise. What is needed are solutions that ensure efficiency, transparency and security while also meeting evolving customer expectations in cash management. For the ZIEMANN GROUP, this means questioning established practices and moving forward with persistence and innovative strength. In this interview with Hans-Jörg Hisam and Heinz Spiegelmacher, we take a look at the year 2026 – which trends are emerging for the industry, what role technologies will play, and how the company is positioning itself strategically.

Trust is good, control is better: this applies especially to cash processes in retail. Wherever large volumes of coins and banknotes are moved, processed, and recorded every day, those responsible must not leave security to chance. With increasing digitalization, new points of attack for criminals are emerging. Therefore, when choosing software, the criterion of “pentests” should always play a role.

Cash has been a hot topic of discussion in recent years. Is it still up to date? Does it have a realistic long-term future? What the next few years will bring is pure speculation. But one thing is certain: here and now, cash remains one of the most important means of payment—especially for the retail sector. That’s why retailers are increasingly urged to explore solutions that make cash management secure, efficient, and transparent. In the podcast Future of Retail, our Managing Director Steven Schwarznau joined host Frank Rehme in the Smart Cash Talk to discuss innovations and insights from the world of cash. Here’s a summary.