Areas Europe and Central Asia

Labour legislation

Labour legislation measures that explicitly refer to digital wage payments.

Collective agreements

Collective agreements that explicit refer to the digital payment of wages.

Financial competence framework for adults in the European Union

The framework promotes a shared understanding of the financial competences adults need to make sound decisions on personal finance. It supports public policies, financial literacy programmes and educational materials to be developed by EU Member States, educational institutions, industry and…

Big potential for digitizing wage payments in Cambodia’s garment factories

The world is moving to digital payments. They are faster, more secure, more transparent and more efficient than cash. Digital payments can support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and empower women and youth. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift toward paying…

Uncovering labour trafficking: Investigation tool for law enforcement and checklist for labour inspectors

This investigation tool describes labour trafficking and exploitation in general. It also follows the progress of police investigations from start to finish. Moreover, it works as a concrete aid for coordinated and well-planned actions in effective labour trafficking investigations. Labour…

Cashless pay, deductions from wages, and the repeal of the Truck Acts in Great Britain, 1945-1986

This article examines the public debate between 1945 and 1986 in Great Britain over repealing the Truck Acts. Advocates of repeal hoped that it might encourage workers to accept wage payment by cheque or electronic transfer, which most manual workers…

Bank identity: Banks, ID cards, and the emergence of a financial identification society in Sweden

Today, nearly the entire adult population in Sweden uses a digital BankID for more purposes than only financial ones. Issuing identity documents is commonly perceived as a task for state authorities, but in Swedish society banks have played a dominant…

The introduction of cashless wage payments and the spread of branch banking in post-war Germany

The period from the 1950s to the late 1970s saw an almost uniform decline of cash-to-GDP ratios in industrial countries. A closer look at the German payment system suggests that the factor causing such a change was a shift towards…

Reducing the shadow economy through electronic payments

This report analyses the shadow economy in eight Central and Southern European countries. It estimates the potential impact of various regulations that, by replacing cash with electronic payments, or by increasing the share of registered consumer cash transactions, may lead…

The Wages Act 1986: An exercise in employment abuse

This article evaluates the United Kingdom’s Wages Act 1986, including in relation to cashless pay.