Shrap Offers a Future Without Coins

At the Future of Cash conference, Chris Forero-Slee introduced his business, Shrap. As he said, he does not expect to be popular with those who make their living from or who like coins. Shrap (the company presumably takes its name from shrapnel, ie. fragments of shells or bullets but also a colloquial term for small change) is a solution that offers an alternative to coins, which they regard as a ‘pain point’ in payments.

The presentation started by considering why coins are regarded as a problem, whether for the retailer or others. For the retailer, the time they take to handle, count and manage, along with losses from the till. For central banks, the cost of the denomination for which the face value does not cover the cost of manufacture (which Chris stated was some $70 million per year for the US), the challenge of managing the cash cycle and the costs and challenges of managing coin when and if it returns.