Briefs: RBNZ ponders future of cash, Heartland resignation

Three-quarters of New Zealanders surveyed by the Reserve Bank said it was very likely that people who are financially and/or digitally excluded would be "severely negatively impacted by the prospect of cash disappearing", with another 9 percent saying this was likely, the RBNZ said in a consultation paper yesterday. The RBNZ concluded that "there would be limited or balanced effects on people's ability to budget, New Zealand's financial stability and government revenue," if cash use and supply declined significantly, as is the norm in some Nordic countries. The central bank also argued that: "Cash infrastructure is costly. Moving to a society with less cash could increase efficiency and reduce the overall transaction costs of payments."

Heartland Bank director Vanessa Stoddart will retire from the board in January. She has been on the bank's board since 2016.