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Wednesday, 01/21/2026

Cash Management 2026: These Trends Retailers, Banks, and Cash-in-Transit Providers Should Watch

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 Lived Freedom – and It Remains So

The key questions remain – and they are the starting point for all answers: How will cash usage develop, and what will its role be? The trend of recent years will continue. Fewer and fewer people in Germany use coins and banknotes. A survey by the European Central Bank showed that the majority of Germans prefer cashless payment methods. And yet, a monthly report by the Deutsche Bundesbank reveals a central sentiment: well over two thirds of society still consider cash to be relevant and important.

Anonymity, control, and security play a major role in this. Aspects that are often viewed with skepticism when it comes to digital alternatives are fully ensured with cash. Paying with cash is therefore associated with freedom and represents a societal good. Many do not want to do without it, even if they themselves increasingly use cashless payment options.

Three perspectives: Cash management in 2026

According to a press release by the Deutsche Bundesbank, cash is the most cost-effective payment method for retailers when considering costs per transaction. Looking at the number of purchases, the EHI study “Payment Systems in Retail 2025” shows that cash was still used in more than half (54.6 percent) of the approximately 20 billion transactions in 2024. At the same time, this increases the need to manage coins and banknotes efficiently. Retailers, financial institutions, and cash-in-transit companies should keep the following developments in mind.


Retail

Trend 1: POS as a cash hub

The environment is changing: ATMs will continue to be reduced in number throughout 2026, while customers still want sufficient options to access cash. Retailers are therefore increasingly becoming hubs in the cash cycle, as withdrawal or deposit points. A trend that already became apparent last year, according to the “Retail Cash Management Global Market Report 2025”, and that will continue.

In concrete terms

  • Retailers integrate cash deposit and withdrawal services directly at the POS.
  • Devices such as cash recyclers or smart safes are used more frequently in stores and are directly connected to cash-in-transit companies or banks.
  • Automated recording of safe inventories and real-time transparency of cash balances and movements become standard, for example via dashboards for store managers and management.


Trend 2: Data and automation

Cash management is a complex task and involves time-consuming processes. It is nothing new that digitalization is used here to relieve stores and employees. However, in many organizations, the digitalization of the entire cash process is still lacking, mainly because there is no solid data basis. This lack can also prevent the implementation of new trends such as automated monitoring and analytics solutions in cash handling. Therefore, in 2026 more than ever: create a data foundation!

In concrete terms

  • Data on cash flows, cash register closings, cancellations, and unplanned access to safe funds are used to detect irregularities at an early stage.
  • Consolidating data from POS systems, changes in safe or smart safe inventories, and cash-in-transit companies reduces media breaks.
  • AI, algorithms, and workflows support store management in an automated way and help reduce costs.


Trend 3: Trust as a competitive advantage

Service offerings such as cash withdrawal or mobile (self-)checkouts are changing the customer experience. An analysis by Capgemini on the top retail trends for 2026 shows that trust can become a real profit driver. Customers want to be confident that payments – whether cash or digital – are transparent, secure, and traceable. Retailers who communicate this credibly can clearly differentiate themselves from the competition.

In concrete terms

  • Modern POS and cash systems fully document payment processes and protect data. AI-based security functions and audit trails create transparency without additional effort.
  • Automated workflows ensure reliable processes around all payment transactions and cash management.
  • Despite automation, personal contacts and training on secure cash handling remain essential.

Save the dates: CashCon 2026 & ESTA

Cash in transition will once again be a key topic at this year’s CashCon. From February 3 to 4, Cologne will focus on cash logistics and payment transactions and the question of how the future can be shaped by retail and banks.

You can register for CashCon 2026 here.

In addition, the industry will meet from June 7 to 9 in Berlin at the ESTA Conference and Exhibition. As every year, the focus will be on cash as a payment method that must remain secure and efficient.

Registration for ESTA Cash 2026 is available via this page.

Our BargeldDialog Handel will also take place again in 2026. Details on the date, program, and venue will follow as soon as planning is complete. We would be happy to actively inform you about the event. You can subscribe to our newsletter for this purpose.


Banks and financial institutions

Trend 1: Structural change – from cash provider to digital cash hub

Banks are increasingly required not only to manage accounts and payments, but also to orchestrate digital treasury services: including liquidity transparency, integrated data flows, and automated control. EY describes how virtual account structures, AI/ML-supported forecasts, and increasingly also digital assets such as stablecoins or tokenized deposits will shape cash management in the coming years.

In concrete terms

  • Banks provide cockpits that generate near real-time insights (just-in-time reporting).
  • For every movement, it is traceable which transactions took place (deposit/withdrawal, replenishment, pickup, counting, crediting) – and which order data underlies them (time window, amounts, service levels, referenced cash register/store/ATM).
  • Standardized interfaces connect bank, retail, and CIT data (order, tracking, counting report, billing), so that cash processes are documented end-to-end and comparable, instead of information being scattered across emails, phone calls, or isolated solutions.


Trend 2: Smart cash for technological efficiency

In 2026, cash management in terms of liquidity and payment management will become significantly more automated: moving away from batch processes and manual reconciliation, toward real-time reconciliation, intraday sweeps, and “algorithmic” liquidity management. EY identifies next steps such as virtual accounts, AI forecasting, and algorithmic liquidity engines for pooling and intercompany movements.

In concrete terms

  • Virtual accounts provide full transparency over cash balances and movements.
  • Idle cash can be identified.
  • AI models serve as early warning systems for bottlenecks or unnecessary surplus balances.


Trend 3: AI as an assistant

The next stage of evolution in banking is no longer just digital, but intelligent. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will become an integral part of internal banking processes in 2026 – from risk analysis and liquidity management to personalized customer advisory services.

In concrete terms

  • Systems recognize patterns in real time – for example in payment flows, credit risks, or fraud attempts – and provide recommendations for action before problems arise.
  • Customers automatically receive offers tailored to their needs.
  • AI optimizes internal processes, such as automated liquidity forecasts, dynamic pricing, or the prioritization of service requests.


Cash-in-transit companies

While transport, processing, and physical security remain core business areas, digitalization, integration, and process intelligence are becoming increasingly important to remain competitive. The classic CIT process is already digitally supported end-to-end – from order placement, to the WTU stop at the store, to crediting. Order capture, tracking, counting reports, and billing run via interfaces. A trend that will continue next year.

The next step in the coming months will be the use of artificial intelligence.

By the way: at ALVARA, we are exploring the use of AI for route planning and dispatching to support operations management as complexity continues to increase.

In concrete terms

  • Collaboration between all cash stakeholders becomes closer: standardized APIs and platforms create shared process logic and make workflows comparable, more efficient, and more transparent.
  • Order entry by customers via a CIT-owned platform will reduce the various communication channels via email or phone in the future.
  • Automation gains importance. Efficiency will no longer be achieved only on the road, but also through data integration.
  • After digitalization and automation, AI-supported route planning and dynamic route optimization are the next steps.
  • AI trends will increasingly focus on predictive cash forecasting, anomaly detection in counting and billing data, AI-supported capacity and shift planning, or document and claims automation using AI.

Transformation for customer satisfaction

The homework list for the new year is already well filled. Postponing these to-dos would not be a good idea. After all, the increasing focus on digitalization, automation, and the use of AI brings not only efficiency, security, and transparency, but above all customer satisfaction – and thus a future-proof 2026.

 

Are you also planning major steps toward digitalization and automation in your company in 2026? Let’s discuss your opportunities for modern cash management.