Estonia's Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority and Bank of Estonia host youth debates on the future of cash and fraud prevention

Estonia's Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority, together with the Bank of Estonia and the Eesti Väitlusselts debating society, held a youth debating event at the Bank of Estonia Museum focused on how certain the future of cash is and whether making financial services harder to use would help tackle financial fraud. The discussion on cash contrasted the convenience and security of card and online payments, including the fraud-detection benefits of transaction trails, with the resilience of cash in crises such as power outages or cyber attacks that disrupt digital payments. Participants also argued that the tangible nature of cash can discourage easy debt and a culture of consumption. In the fraud debate, proposals included greater complexity and wider use of two-factor authentication, while opposing speakers argued that complexity does not address situations where users are manipulated under psychological pressure by scammers. Expert contributions included Bank of Estonia economist Peeter Luikmel on monitoring in digital payments and Finantsinspektsioon’s Kalle Klooster on the role of artificial intelligence in the evolution of financial scams. Recordings and Estonian-language worksheets were made available via the Finantsinspektsioon YouTube channel, and the event marked the launch of a new season of cooperation between the Bank of Estonia, Finantsinspektsioon and Eesti Väitlusselts.