Cash in Credit Card Format: How the Federal Printing Office Envisions the Banknote of the Future
Only about half of purchases in brick-and-mortar retail in Germany are paid for in cash. The Federal Printing Office is working on new concepts to keep banknotes attractive.
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Only about half of purchases in brick-and-mortar retail in Germany are paid for in cash. Trend: continuing to decline. To keep banknotes attractive, the Federal Printing Office is working on new concepts.
Consumer advocates have long warned that the acceptance of cash for payments in retail continues to decline. The consequences could be increased conflicts when paying or a loss of control over spending and data privacy. It is therefore demanded that cash payments must also be possible with new technologies, such as self-service checkouts or ticket machines.
Half of Purchases Paid with Cash
According to a recent study by the Cologne EHI Retail Institute, only 50.5 percent of purchases in German retail are settled in cash. 48.1 percent of purchases are paid by card. According to the study, the gap is shrinking further. The Federal Printing Office is trying to find out how physical banknotes could be designed in an increasingly digitalized world.
On the Banknote Conference in Washington, the company presented the concept banknote Stella – the second such concept banknote in the Ex Nihilo series after Ignis (2024), as stated in a press release. While the Federal Printing Office placed great emphasis on a highly secure and thin chip in the paper for Ignis, Stella focuses on increasing durability and sustainability.
The concept banknote is to be printed on a polymer substrate made from renewable and non-fossil raw materials. This is intended to increase the lifespan and reduce environmental impact. By reducing the banknote to the size of a credit card, the Federal Printing Office aims to enable savings in raw material consumption, production time, and energy expenditure.
Federal Printing Office: Cash Remains Essential
"Cash will remain essential in the future," says Elisabeth Limbacher, Head of Value Printing at the Federal Printing Office. "Crucial for this is, among other things, a coordinated interplay of sustainability, security, and practicality."
The designers drew inspiration from the stars for the visual design. According to the Federal Printing Office, this brings the "origin of life and matter into focus." This is then transferred into a banknote design that is "consciously focused on the essentials in terms of sustainability."
The concept banknote Stella has been nominated for the industry award "Excellence in Currency Award 2026" by the IACA (International Association of Currency Affairs) in the category "Best New House Note.” Ignis won one of the IACA awards in 2024.