It is anonymous, so you don’t have to worry about exposing personal information to potential criminals, although for this reason cash is also used in the underground economy. People also hold onto cash as savings for a rainy day. Bank of Canada research suggests that changes in cash management practices could also help explain the constant demand for cash.
In the years running up to the global financial crisis, Western European banks expanded rapidly in the region, gaining substantial market shares through branches and subsidiaries; by 2008 they held as much as 80 per cent of total banking assets in these countries.