detail a bundle of eight policy proposals categorised into several themes – resilience, cash acceptance, cash access and consumer demand5. this could include supporting merchants : to recycle cash at point - of - sale by remunerating them for cash out services by facilitating frequent, affordable cash delivery and collection for merchants through consolidation within the cash system with the creation of utility entities. these options could improve resilience by changing the incentives and commercial realities facing key cash system participants today. we are continuing to collaborate with various stakeholders relevant to the cash system to test the feasibilities of these policies, a result of which will be published for further consultation. we think it ’ s important that we understand the impacts of these _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ https : / / www. rbnz. govt. nz / money - and - cash / future - of - money / future - of - money - - - te - moni - anamata - - - 2021 - issues - papers - public - responses / future - of - money - - - stewardshipresponses https : / / www. rbnz. govt. nz / - / media / 4c7b5d93b76d4c4099c952e9ed8d98b0. ashx nz ’ s changing payments landscape and potential responses to it ref # x909373 v3. 0 policies before implementing them however – so we plan to explore them further with a series of small live experiments from next year. to summarise on this aspect : the reserve bank remains committed to ensuring cash – as one form of central bank money - is available to new zealanders for as long as people value and use it. we are very concerned about the wellbeing and inclusion impacts for those that depend on cash to pay and save, yet no longer have free or easy access to it and are therefore looking at alternatives to bolster that. i ’ ll now move on to consider innovation in digital payments. mainstream innovation in digital payments is too slow electronic payments has been evolving at an ever faster pace globally since their introduction back in the 1970s6. for new zealand, most notably since eftpos was launched in 19857, innovation in retail payments has flourished and has played a key role in supporting our economic growth. for a while, new zealand showed leadership in the retail digital payments space through the adoption of

a whole more robust by reducing interbank and trade settlement risk. we are conscious that undue restrictions may stifle healthy competition, impair market efficiency, and limit cash system innovation, but we are also cognisant of the need to ensure the robustness and financial integrity is maintained. we are reviewing the extent to which the existing access criteria remain fit for purpose noting these points. greater access could increase competition and innovation in our payments landscape going forward but it needs to be weighed against the central importance of esas to our core functions and the risks that may arise from a wider range of institutions having direct access. central bank digital currency work scoping design and benefits approaches as you ’ ll be well aware, we are also exploring how a central bank digital currency, or cbdc, may support the role and use of central bank money in the digital age. our work on cbdc so far has already attracted a lot of interest from fintechs, financial institutions and the general public alike. we received more than 6, 000 responses to our 2021 cbdc issues paper as part of our first work stage12. many of these were from concerned individuals fearing the imminent removal of cash and assertion of state control through a cbdc. while misinformation drove some of this response, it was a timely confirmation that the people of new zealand still keenly value cash, along with the privacy and autonomy it provides. the key insight from this consultation was the need for any potential cbdc to be privacy centric. we have now embarked on the second stage of our cbdc exploration ( figure 3 ). in this phase, we are expanding beyond the desktop research to explore various aspects to design of a potential cbdc. we are undertaking thematic research on how a cbdc might support wider digital financial inclusion and wellbeing, and also enable an open, innovative and competitive payments ecosystem whilst maintaining user privacy. alongside our thematic cbdc research we will be undertaking proof of concept experiments to better understand what is possible and feasible. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ https : / / www. rbnz. govt. nz / - / media / project / sites / rbnz / files / consultations / future - of - money / future - of - money - summary - of - responses. pdf nz ’ s changing payments landscape and potential responses to it ref # x909373 v3. 0 figure 3 : cbdc exploration roadmap stage 1 : develop