In the first half of the year, the coronavirus pandemic led to the most severe economic crisis in decades. The German financial system has, however, proven to be stable during the pandemic, and so far fulfilled its key functions, said Claudia Buch, Vice-President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, at the presentation of the 2020 Financial Stability Review. Ms Buch added that, in the further course of the pandemic, corporate insolvencies are likely to increase, and this requires sufficient preparation.

According to a statement made to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) news agency by the Executive Board member responsible for Cash, Johannes Beermann, over the course of 2021 the Bundesbank will begin issuing new €20 banknotes with a special coating that is designed to extend the lifespan of the banknotes.

Demand for programmable payments is rising in the German economy. The working group on “Programmable money”, initiated by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Deutsche Bundesbank, arrived at this verdict. The group, comprising experts from 19 enterprises in the real economy and financial sector, analysed possible payment solutions in new, innovative business cases.