Sustainability-POC-Report. World‘s first 100%-electric armoured e-truck in action with Prosegur

July 6,2021

Original published in German in “TRUCKERS WORLD powered by MAN“ – translation by Deepl.com

CLEAN and SAFE.

Cash transport with the MAN eTGE

The world’s first armoured electric money transporter is now in use at the security service provider Prosegur. Since the armouring was realised in lightweight construction, the electrically powered MAN eTGE has enough payload and range for city traffic. On tour with the environmentally friendly cash messengers in Potsdam.

For safety reasons, Prosegur’s cash messengers always travel in pairs or sometimes even in threes – a well-rehearsed team. Today Uwe E. is driving the yellow money carrier through Potsdam. His colleague Andreas H. watches the surroundings from the passenger seat. He mainly looks for hedges, backyards and other possible hiding places. Because “the others” could be lurking there in ambush. That’s what H. calls criminals who are after money and valuables transported in the vehicle, doubly protected by the armoured outer skin and the armoured inner cabin. The course of each tour, each of which covers several banks, ATMs or shops, is planned in detail to minimise the risk of robbery. At Prosegur’s Potsdam branch, a security guard watches on a monitor as the GPS signal of the MAN eTGE moves through the city and keeps in touch with the two cash messengers by radio. Driver and co-driver are highly concentrated while the electrically driven van glides almost silently through the streets. “This silence while driving is great,” says money messenger Andreas H. with satisfaction. “Without noise, I can focus even better and am less exhausted at the end of the working day.”

However, the advantage of the noiseless drive is not the main reason why Prosegur uses the world’s first armoured electric money carrier. The company wants to prove to itself and the entire security industry that electric mobility is not only suitable for normal delivery traffic, but also for the special requirements of cash-in-transit. Despite the additional weight of the armour, which reduces the payload of the vehicle and the already limited range of the electric battery.

Lightweight construction for armouring
Since Prosegur has already had good experience with the conventional MAN TGE panel vans in its fleet, its battery-electric variant, a MAN TGE 3.140 E, was chosen as the test vehicle. The STOOF company provided it with armouring and dispensed with steel in order to save weight. Instead, aramid was used, a lightweight high-performance fabric that is also used by the military for armoured vehicles and protective clothing. In this way, it was possible to realise the cash transporter with a tare weight of 3,150 kilograms, including the armour. “Its battery charge allows for about 120 to 130 kilometres of range. That is absolutely sufficient for our tours in the urban area” tells Alexander Lange, who manages Prosegur’s fleet. “Our electric money transporter travels 70 to 90 kilometres per day. There is still enough range left over as a safety reserve.”

Prosegur has been using the MAN eTGE since September 2020. It has since been integrated into normal operations. The test phase has been successfully completed. The proof is in: environmentally friendly transport of valuables without local emissions is feasible. The electric version has proven itself very well. “As a company with a large fleet of vehicles, we want to make an important contribution to climate protection, so there is no way around electric cash-in-transit vehicles,” announces Jochen Werne. The Chief Development Officer of Prosegur in Germany estimates: “A large part of our tours – especially in urban areas – can be realised with battery-electric vehicles.” For supra-regional shuttle transports, according to the current state of the art, another drive solution with a higher range is still required.

At Prosegur, the changeover to electric mobility will take place in carefully coordinated steps. Jochen Werne emphasises that in addition to the purchase costs of the vehicles – the fleet comprises 900 cash-in-transit vehicles and 300 service vehicles – additional costs must be calculated for setting up the charging infrastructure. Until now, the MAN eTGE has been charged overnight at a simple 230-volt socket. After around eight hours, the battery is full again. “In order to fully exploit the advantages of electric mobility, high-performance charging stations are of course indispensable,” Werne explains. Despite the necessary investments, the head of development at Prosegur also sees a great economic opportunity in electromobility: “In a long-term total cost consideration, this technology can even save money.”

A sign for climate protection
In Potsdam, Prosegur is setting a clearly visible example for climate protection with the MAN eTGE.

In contrast, the money messengers Uwe E. and Andreas H. want to attract as little attention as possible to their risky job. For each customer, they park as close as possible to the entrance. Uwe E. quickly slips into the shelter of the building and soon after back into the vehicle. For the short distance, he carries the valuable cargo in a special transport security device. After completing their rounds, the money messengers drive their “e-tank” through a security gate back to Prosegur’s premises. Safe and clean.

MONEY IN THE DIGITAL AGE

Reflections by Jochen Werne, Chief Development & Chief Visionary Officer Prosegur Germany (published in Prosegur Express 02/2021)

In all debates on analogue and digital means of payment, “trust” is always at the centre of the discussion: trust in the state-social order, which stands as a guarantor for stability and security of the fiat money issued. In this respect, some would almost like to marvel at how Bitcoin & Co. have managed to gain such trust in such a short time that a market capitalisation in the billions has been achieved. One of the points is certainly the technological confidence in the non-manipulability of the blockchain.
But is the blockchain really not manipulable, or is it rather a question of time before an attack will succeed? And what conclusions are central banks around the world drawing from this as they look at creating central bank digital currencies? Currencies designed to bridge the gap between the stability of analogue central bank money and the demands of our digital age.

Perhaps the solution for a trustworthy and generally accepted today and now lies in a hybrid model: in a cryptocurrency, in form of a stablecoin, that is 100 per cent backed by physical central bank money. This means that every digital token has a unique physical counterpart (euro). Due to the tradability of the tokens, the flexibility of book money is paired with the guarantee of physical central bank money. Last but not least, a regulated trustee function guarantees that the existing and securely stored central bank money is always paired with its digital twin. Thus. the best of both worlds is firmly united.

Prosegur awarded with the Gold Stevie for Sustainable Product Innovation

It is with great pride that we hold the Gold Stevie Award 2021 in our hands. The award is representative of so many at Prosegur who work every day to make the company once again a pioneer in the industry when it comes to e-mobility and sustainability.

The organizers of the Stevie® Awards 2021 have announced their winners: In the category for special achievements in the field of product innovation, Prosegur Germany has been awarded as GOLD STEVIE® WINNER. With the world’s first fully electric armored MAN eTGE cash-in-transit vehicle, the international jury of experts was convinced. This makes Prosegur Germany one of the winners – alongside other award-winning companies such as Deutsche Post DHL Group, Deutsche Telekom Services Europe SE or Vodafone GmbH.

Read more HERE

Expert roundtable discussion: PROCESS MINING

28 February 2021
published in the current issue of the magazine gi Geldinstitute

For the trade magazine gi Geldinstitute, leading experts answered Stefanie Walter’s questions on the topic of “Process Mining at Banks”. Jochen Werne – Prosegur Germany, Gerrit von der Hardt – TARGO Dienstleistungs, Sebastian Hennerici – Aareal Bank AG, Gerrit Meier – Hanseatic Bank GmbH & Co KG, Thorsten Briest – PSD Bank Braunschweig eG, Christian Meusel – Berliner Volksbank eG, André H. Burger – Synpulse Management Consulting

Professional know-how and the right feeling for changing customer needs are essential factors in being able to innovatively develop needs-based solutions for our customers.

The entire roundtable talk in the current print edition or soon online at www.Geldinstitute.de

Publication: For the good of all – Why standards are so important

gi-Geldinstitute published „For the good of all – Why standards are so important“, A plea for future-oriented minimum standards in the CIT industry, underlining Prosegur‘s frontrunner role as resilient infrastructure provider in the security and cash management industry.

Find Original in German HERE. Translation generated with deepL.com

A plea for future-oriented minimum standards in the CIT industry. The neighbouring banking industry (and often the customers of CIT companies) is already protected by standards such as MaRisk and BAIT. However, cash-in-transit companies that work closely with their customers (banks) have less high standards in IT, whereby the industry is becoming increasingly digitalised. Prosegur argues for higher standards across the CIT industry.

Emeritus professor of literature Hans-Dieter Gelfert, who has spent many years researching German, British and American mentalities, expressed in an interview with Deutsche Welle that the orderly society of modern Germany has a long genesis. “Order is one of the sacred words in Germany, and that has something to do with the German emphasis on security as opposed to freedom,” he said. “For the last thousand years, security has always been the supreme value and order is a mainstay of security.” Part of Germany’s success is built on norms. It is not without reason that the encyclopaedia “Brands of the Century” lists more than 200 German brands such as Hipp or Tempo as examples of entire product categories. The entire title is: “German Standards – Brands of the Century”. Aha, standards then – a coincidence?

Without rules, norms or minimum standards, a modern society would be almost inconceivable. They structure, make things comparable and act as a control mechanism. Cultural imprints and regional differences come into play in their design. For example, many an EU citizen groans about the General Data Protection Regulation when a form has to be filled out for consent to the use of personal data. On the other side of the Atlantic, people certainly pay respect to the GDPR for the standards it sets. Standards that reflect the values of an enlightened Europe.

Own rules in the business world

Beyond social norms and local legislation, there are other rules in the business world. There is hardly an industry that has not already given itself a catalogue of minimum standards. This is an advantage for many, because the complexity on the supply side is often reduced for those asking. But the question must be allowed whether minimum standards are sufficient and whether they all focus on the well-being of customers and society. Too often the focus is on the providers. Yet there are standards that need to be established today in order to prepare for future challenges.

Prosegur is committed to more than minimum standards to position the entire industry for the future and to ensure society’s trust in this system-critical industry. An industry that does nothing less than ensure the unrestricted supply of central bank money to the population and the safe return of several million euros of cash income daily to the accounts of businesses to ensure their liquidity.

A look at the customer environment reveals that the related banking industry is leading the way: with MaRisk (Minimum Requirements for Risk Management) or BAIT (Bank Supervisory Requirements for IT), credit institutions have positioned themselves for the future. Since banks usually cooperate with a cash-in-transit company, it is only logical for Prosegur to apply these already existing requirements in an identical manner to its own business operations today and consequently to demand rapid implementation from all providers of cash and valuables transport.

All players operating in such an important part of our economic life must keep their eyes on the future and never cling to the status quo. Today, topics such as digitalisation and environmental protection naturally belong in the programmes of sustainably oriented companies. Every organisation needs courage, creativity and a willingness to invest in finding a digital language for analogue solutions. This fact is of particular importance in the Corona pandemic, because it acts as an accelerator for the global digital transformation.

Politicians underlined that they have recognised this on 9 December 2020 with the BMI’s draft bill for a second law to increase the security of information technology systems. But even before the draft becomes law, the following applies to Prosegur: the further development of current standards, investment in sustainable technologies and personnel as well as in the certification of processes and models must absolutely be in the interest of every serious money and value service provider already today.

Resilience through standards and digitalisation

It is essential to arm oneself against all kinds of threat scenarios – known and new, present and future – and to become resilient against external shocks. To be resilient so that, as a critical infrastructure, citizens can access money even in crises or exceptional situations. And to offer support to other critical infrastructures to also become resilient in order to avert supply bottlenecks for the population in cooperation. Prosegur consistently pursues this maxim, among other things with the smart cash procedure, in which cash receipts, for example in the supermarket or pharmacy, are deposited in a smart safe, where they can be credited to the business account via Early Value. Independent of the physical collection of the money, the company can use it to do business. A lack of liquidity does not become a showstopper for supermarkets and pharmacies in times of crisis. They remain open and the supply of goods and medicines is maintained. In the impulse paper “Resilient pioneers from business and society” of the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech), Prosegur Smart Cash was presented in December 2020 as a resilient concept for success.

Standards create resilience. So what standards should the cash and cash-in-transit industry additionally orient itself to? In Prosegur’s opinion, the standards of the credit institutions with which the cash and valuables transport industry cooperates on a daily basis. Not only in terms of their own resilience, but also in order to be a true partner for customers with their very own challenges in the low and negative interest rate environment, in the digital transformation and in the climate crisis. Then the players in this industry not only transport, process and store values, they also embody them and prepare to take on even greater responsibility in the “cash cycle” value chain.

PODCAST: Poledify host Felix Gehm is discussing Business Transformation with Jochen Werne

HOT OFF THE TAPE: Business Transformation in the Digital Age – Insight into Practice from an Expert’s Perspective

It was a great pleasure being invited as guest to the brand new podcast format POLEDIFY. With Poledify, Felix Gehm offers insights into the routines, mindsets and habits of experts and thought leaders from a wide range of disciplines.

Find the POLEDIFY podcast HERE

POLEDIFY EPISODE #3 – DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Listen to the Interview HERE

CONTENT & LINKS (posted by Poledify)

Jochen Werne is Chief Development Officer and Chief Visionary Officer of Prosegur Germany. Prosegur Group is one of the leading security service providers worldwide with over 175,000 employees on five continents. Jochen Werne is, among other things, a member of the Learning Systems Platform, which advises the German government on artificial intelligence, and of the Royal Institute of International Affairs Chatham House, one of the most important think tanks in the world. Jochen was listed as one of the AI experts in Germany by Focus magazine. He is also an author, keynote speaker, internationally awarded NGO founder and specialist in business development and transformation, and international diplomacy. In 2020, the Tyto Tech Power List named him one of the 50 most influential people in the tech scene in Germany.

Topics of this episode:

What does digital transformation mean for “traditional” business sectors?
How Prosegur plans to master digital transformation
How not to be deterred by big challenges
The most important characteristics of a leader in the face of such challenges

Links and other things from the episode:
The interview between Bill Gates and Warren Buffet: shorturl.at/mGPYZ
Books:
Utopias for Realists by Rutger Bregman
Mordern Monopolies by Alex Moazed and Nicholas L. Johnson
Here you can find Jochen Werne and everything about Prosegur:
Jochen Werne LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jochenwerne/
Jochen Werne Website: http://jochenwerne.com/
Prosegur LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/prosegur/
Prosegur website: https://www.prosegur.com/en/jobs
Platform Learning Systems: https://www.plattform-lernende-systeme.de/home-en.html

Questions, criticism, suggestions or anything else? Write to me!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poledify/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThisIsFelixGehm
or simply send an email to poledify@gmail.com
Where does the fine music (intro & outro) come from?
The fine music in the intro and outro is produced by pads. Behind the artist name is Patrick, who has finally decided to record all his little songs. You can find it all here:
YouTube: bit.ly/33TOFcN
Instagram: https://bit.ly/2XWFDIm
Soundcloud: https://bit.ly/3oYQA8k

EVENT – The way out of the crisis: creating added value through digital transformation

An event organised by acatech – the National Academy of Science and Engineering which is the voice of the technological sciences at home and abroad. acatech provides advice on strategic engineering and technology policy issues to policymakers and the public. The National Academy of Science and Engineering fulfils the mandate to provide independent, evidence-based advice that is in the public interest under the patronage of the Federal President.

Start: 05 March 2021 – 10:00 a.m.
End: 05 March 2021 – 11:30 a.m
Location: Virtual event – Language: German

Especially in the Corona pandemic, digital technologies proved their usefulness: through them, companies were more adaptable in the crisis. What role do digital technologies now play on the way out of the crisis – especially for medium-sized companies? How do they manage the digital transformation and develop new value creation models?

A debate organized by acatech

The host is discussing these and other questions with guests from business and research on 5 March.

PROGRAM

Welcome:

Dr. Johannes Winter, acatech Secretariat

Moderation:

Prof. Dr. Michael Dowling, University of Regensburg/acatech

Impulse/Podium:
DATA, VALUES, VALUE CREATION – WHERE IS THE JOURNEY GOING?

Dr. Wolfgang Faisst, CEO ValueWorks.ai / Platform Learning Systems
BEST PRACTICE INDUSTRY 4.0

LESER GmbH & Co. KG: Digital transformation in medium-sized companies
Kai-Uwe Weiß, Head of Global Industrial Engineering
FORCAM GmbH: Value creation through integrative IIoT platform solution
Franz Gruber, Founder and Advisory Board


EXPERT DISCUSSION: DIGITAL SOLUTIONS FOR A RESILIENT COMPANY

Olga Mordvinova, CEO incontext.technology GmbH / Learning Systems Platform
Jochen Werne, Prosegur Cash Services Germany GmbH / Learning Systems Platform
Franz Gruber, FORCAM GmbH
Kai-Uwe Weiß, LESER GmbH & Co. KG

Registration:
Admission free; registration required. Please register under the following link, all registered will receive the access link before the event.

Link to the registration

INTERVIEW. After the lockdown: gastronomy and retail will reopen with more efficient processes

Interview with Jochen Werne, CDO/CVO Prosegur Germany, on more efficient processes after the lockdown

In his expert interview, Jochen Werne sheds light on central aspects from the perspective of gastronomy and retail for more efficient processes after the lockdown.

Read original interview by Prosegur Germany: LINK HERE. Translation by DeepL.com

Mr Werne, what are your personal observations regarding the economy and society after a year of crisis?

Of course, every crisis first of all brings suffering and a pandemic naturally brings suffering for the individual and his or her relatives when the fate of the disease triggered by the virus befalls him or her. Everything else is like a chain reaction. Starting with the state, which has the sovereign task of protecting its citizens and, in the case of a pandemic, also enforces this by shutting down social life. This, in turn, results in drastic losses of income for closed companies while costs continue. If liquidity is insufficient, this then leads to insolvencies, job losses and, in the worst case, an economic crisis. Historically, however, every crisis – and this one is no exception – has also led to the economy becoming more efficient and technological trends experiencing an acceleration.

At the moment – in this situation that is so difficult for many – I observe an incredible and inspiring creativity. It starts with small and medium-sized enterprises, which are trying to adapt agilely to what feels like a new situation every day, to improve, to optimise costs and to position themselves optimally for the time after the crisis. This gives us hope for the time after the crisis and it is a great motivation to be able to contribute with a fantastic team.

Every crisis demands a certain resilience from companies. The National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech) presented an impulse paper entitled “Resilient Pioneers” at the German government’s digital summit in November. In it, Prosegur with its digital smart cash solution is named as a best practice example for a future-oriented and cost-optimised cash management for retail and gastronomy. How does Prosegur Smart Cash work?

Link to the acatech-paper


With Prosegur Smart Cash, restaurateurs, retailers or wholesalers can insert cash directly into the Smart Cash device for safekeeping. The special feature – in contrast to a simple safe – is that once inserted, the device automatically takes over the daily counting and accounting of the cash. The time and thus cost savings in our customers’ internal processes are sometimes considerable. The device has a communication protocol that allows the value of the collection to be transferred to the client’s bank account within 24 hours. Once the money is in the device, the responsibility and management lies with Prosegur Cash’s specialised team, which is responsible for transporting and holding the money to the bank branch. This also eliminates the sometimes daily and not harmless trip to the bank branch.

What are the advantages of Prosegur Smart Cash?

In summary, it saves our customers time and money and creates more transparency and security. Prosegur Smart Cash customers can store their cash quickly and securely, reducing unknown losses. Prosegur Smart Cash enables time savings by automating the counting process and in the daily settlement of cash. In addition, thanks to Prosegur Smart Cash, the customer does not have to go to the bank to deposit the cash, as Prosegur provides security in managing and handing over all the cash to the bank, which avoids dangerous situations for the customer and helps them save time so they can devote themselves fully to their business. In addition, a Smart Cash solution reduces the frequent and expensive phenomenon of the so-called “unknown loss”.

What is “unknown loss”?

This is the loss of inventory or other business resources due to a variety of factors, such as internal and external theft, administrative failure, fraud or cash flow errors. This situation is often a key problem for restaurateurs and retailers.

What do you observe, in terms of their customers and how they prepare for the time after the lockdown?

There is an unbelievable longing to finally be able to get in touch with their customers again, to be able to passionately offer them their own services again. Many small and medium-sized companies, not to mention the big ones, have invested massively in hygiene concepts and tried to use the time to optimise their own processes in terms of costs.

We ourselves have never had so many consultations regarding smart cash solutions as we do today. This has increased even more after clear statements and studies by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Bundesbank pointed out that the hygienic cleanliness of cash is at least equal to that of card payments and that the risk of infection in relation to our daily payment methods is minimal in both cases.

Interestingly enough, we have also noticed a high demand for efficiency lifting among companies with small cash volumes and have used the time to be the first company in Germany to develop a corresponding very cost-effective digital solution for this group as well. A crisis always forces everyone to become more efficient and, in my opinion, there is nothing better than doing this together. This is the only way to emerge stronger from a crisis.

Buying Crypto-Currency with Cash: Prosegur supports the operation of Bitcoin-ATM‘s in Germany

The possibility to buy Bitcoins with cash in a regulated process at a designated ATM intelligently combines the best of both worlds. As Germany’s market leader in cash transport and processing, Prosegur guarantees secure cash handling for Europe’s largest operator of Bitcoin ATMs.

Find details about the project in this article from t3n, translated with Deepl.com. Find original HERE

Sutor Bank has announced a number of cooperations in the fintech sector in recent years. In the future, the tradition-rich bank will set up Bitcoin ATMs in Germany.
The project will be implemented as a cooperation with the Hamburg-based Sutor-Bank, the Austrian Kurant, which claims to be Europe’s largest operator of Bitcoin ATMs, as well as the startup Spot9 with the participation of IDnow, Coinfirm and Prosegur. According to the participants, this is a unique cooperation that meets all the requirements of the German banking supervisory authority Bafin – and the number of participants already suggests how high they are. Their rules include, for example, compliance with money laundering guidelines and the secure identification process of customers, which IDnow takes over. Finally, Prosegur is involved as a security service provider in the area of cash transport and processing and is supposed to guarantee secure cash handling.


Last week, the first machine was set up in Berlin – in the medium term, a nationwide network of Bitcoin machines is to be set up. “Spot9’s vision is to enable everyone, even without extensive prior knowledge, to use our Bitcoin ATMs. That is why it is very important for us to understand exactly how customers behave at the vending machine before we open the additional locations,” says Johannes Gorski, CEO of Spot9.

Vending machine solution: Easier than buying bitcoin via an exchange


The vending machine solution is intended to be a safe and easy-to-understand alternative to buying online and carries fewer risks than buying cryptocurrencies on Bitcoin exchanges, the parties involved explain. The purchase process works via cash and is similar to the operation of a conventional ATM. Thus, the offer is aimed at customers who want to buy cryptocurrencies in their normal everyday life.

After the first vending machine has been set up in Berlin, but can be used by a selected test group for the time being, the primary goal is to get to know the user behaviour of the customers better and thus ensure an optimal user experience. The opening of further locations is to take place in the course of the first quarter of 2021, whereby the Corona Factor will of course still have an impact.

It should be possible to use the Bitcoin ATMs with any digital Bitcoin wallet. The user is thus independent of an ATM-specific wallet. However, in order to use the Bitcoin ATMs, the customer must first go through the registration process with verification on the Spot9 website.

„POWER of DISPOSAL“ in Der-Bank-Blog

Cash, book money and free availability

by JOCHEN WERNE published in DER BANK BLOG (30 October 2020) – For the original version in German please follow this LINK – English version translated by Deepl.com

“Disposal power” or “authority to dispose” are legal terms which are of great importance in the discussions on cash and book money. It also concerns the freedom of choice of citizens.
The German language today is much more extensive than the 100,000 words used by Goethe in his time. We hardly use many of these words, which are so characteristic of our language, despite their meaning. Perhaps some readers feel the same way about the word “Verfügungsmacht” as I did when I consciously read it for the first time in a quotation from the former president of the Federal Constitutional Court, Prof. Dr. Udo Di Fabio. And perhaps it is like with many things in life that one only realises the deeper meaning at the moment when one deals with it in more detail.
In our modern times, hardly anyone will visit the university library to quickly get to grips with a topic. Instead, people google the library to get an overview. And while less than 20 years ago we would have found our first little research happiness about the term “power of disposal” or also “authority to dispose of property” in the library of the law faculty, Internet research reveals in seconds a glance at a litany of legal forums.


Definition of power of disposal
What is striking here is that the focus is not on the definition of control, but that the topic of regaining control dominates the first page on Google. Inevitably, this reminds me of my first visit to the Munich Google office many years ago. Almost rapturously in his remarks about the power of the algorithm, a sales employee of the world’s most powerful search engine asked the group if we knew where on the Internet they hid a body. With a glance into his head-shaking auditorium, he solved the riddle with a smile and said: “On the second page of Google search. Inevitably, of course, one then asks oneself – albeit only rhetorically – whether the Google business model works in particular because many have simply relinquished control over their data.
The power of disposal or also power of disposition is defined as the “legal power to dispose of an object”. Which is banal, meaning that I should also have the power of disposal over what belongs to me – in other words, what is legally my property. However, the success of my own research on the first Google page suggests one thing above all else to the reader: that the power to dispose of property can be lost. For example, also of your own money? In order to answer this question, one should basically distinguish between cash and book money.


Cash, book money and the power of disposal
With cash, I have direct unlimited physical control over my money in the form of coins or notes. This power of disposal can of course be lost if I am robbed or simply lose my wallet. Without entering into the legal depths of “normal” debt and the right to dispose of money, citizens have in principle all the means guaranteed by the state at their disposal to recover their property.
The same applies to book money, if, for example, money is lost through credit card fraud when shopping online. The limits of non-physical power of disposal would, however, quickly become apparent if a bank went bankrupt and the money parked in the account in excess of the deposit guarantee was no longer available.
Cash, book money and free availability
It is utopian and not at all sensible to hoard all one’s “money” as cash. But it is certainly important to make clear what it means to no longer have the freedom of choice between cash and book money and thus to completely give up one’s right to physical availability of money.
In the concluding sentence of his speech at the 2018 Cash Symposium of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Udo Di Fabio underlined what is probably the most important point in the current discussion surrounding this election. He said that it should not be “disregarded” in principle that every citizen should be able to freely dispose of his money – his “exchangeable assets”. He further added that this was particularly true when “financial privacy” was considered a legal requirement.
This means that a society whose entire assets would only be managed digitally in book money could also only exercise limited individual power of disposal over its money and would have to face the question “whether the state, through its central bank, would be entitled to carry out a controlled devaluation through negative interest rates, booking discounts or fees on credit balances”. Prof. Di Fabio further points out that this would then not only be an encroachment on ownership but, as a result, possibly also the imposition of a special levy, which is only permitted under strict conditions in the German legal system.


Conflicts of interest and trust
It is easy to see that this issue can give rise to considerable conflicts of interest in the triangular relationship between citizens (- how can I protect and increase my money), government (- how can public debt be reduced) and central bank (- how can economic and monetary stability be ensured). This is particularly true in the light of the continuing challenges posed by the Corona pandemic.
It is thanks to the excellent work of the Deutsche Bundesbank since the Federal Republic of Germany came into existence and the confidence it has built up in our currency that the confidence of the public in both cash and book money is so high in this country.
Freedom of choice between cash and book money
Of course, another decisive aspect of this trust is the freedom of choice between cash and book money, which the Bundesbank also advocates. This freedom of choice also offers banks the opportunity to deal flexibly with the funds. For example, instead of charging 100 percent negative interest on book money to citizens or companies, banks could also physically hold it or have it held in safekeeping as cash.
Since it is not part of a bank’s core competence to operate high-security systems and one certainly does not want to expose one’s own employees to the risk of a robbery or the blackmailing abduction of a family member, there is of course the possibility of outsourcing such a service in a LCR-compatible and MaRisk-compliant manner. A service that supports the customer in parts of his liquidity management and does not make it difficult for him to possibly maintain his own safe in his own four walls and without a security concept and thus endanger himself and his family.
“Money is coined freedom”
In his prose work “Records from a House of the Dead”, the Russian writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky describes his own experiences in Siberian captivity and formulates the later much quoted sentence: “Money is coined freedom”, thereby describing the vital relevance of a free exchange of goods in an unfree environment – and this through coined cash money. For the young Dostoyevsky, the changeover to a pure book money system in Siberian prison would have meant the withdrawal of his individual power of disposal over money, so that in reverse he would no longer have any assets which he could have used for the exchange of goods and other things. He describes this situation in the quintessence as follows: The suffering of prisoners who do not have money is “10 times greater”.
It is therefore reasonable to assume that the intellectual, serious discussions about the freedom of choice between cash and book money and the freedom of citizens in a constitutional state, which is freely consolidated in its constitution, would please Dostoevsky with his experiences in an unfree society. And it is characteristic of our open society that, especially in a crisis like the present one, we are conducting and continuing the debate on freedom of choice and power of disposal at this level, and not only with regard to our money.