Latest News

Astrid Mitchell

29 July 2021

5 min read

SPARK® – the Innovation Journey Continues to FLOW

SPARK® has proved to be one of the most successful and widely used anti-counterfeiting features for banknotes since its launch in 2006.

Banknotes Substrates, Features

Astrid Mitchell

29 July 2021

2 min read

Peru Begins Roll Out of New Series

The Banco Central de Reserva del Perú has unveiled the designs of its new banknote series with modern designs, new motifs and leading-edge security features.

Banknotes

Astrid Mitchell

28 June 2021

3 min read

In Other News…

The Central Bank of Honduras has announced that a new 200 lempira note will be issued in September. Notes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 lempiras currently circulate in Honduras. The last note to be introduced – the 500 – was in 1997.

Banknotes Central Banks Coins

Astrid Mitchell

28 June 2021

2 min read

Support for Euro Remains High, but Not for Low Value Coins

Public support for the euro has reached an all-time high, according to the European Commission's latest Eurobarometer survey.

Banknotes Coins Studies, Reports

Astrid Mitchell

28 June 2021

2 min read

Albania Rolls Out New Series with Two More Notes

The Bank of Albania has unveiled the next two denominations in its new series – the 1,000 and 10,000 lekës, which go into circulation at the end of June.

Banknotes

Astrid Mitchell

28 June 2021

2 min read

The New £50

The introduction of the new £50 was undertaken by the Bank of England Governor, Andrew Bailey, at a special ceremony at Bletchley Park, once the top-secret home of the World War Two codebreakers and where Alan Turing, the subject of the note, carried out his most famous work breaking the Enigma code.

Banknotes

Astrid Mitchell

27 May 2021

5 min read

Qatar’s New Banknotes – Art, Progress and Technology Brought Together

The Qatar Central Bank formally launched its 5th Series of banknotes on Qatar National Day, 18 December 2020, replacing the 4th Series that was issued in 2003. The Qatar Central Bank wished to modernise the banknotes and to incorporate the latest security features. The new series, designed by De La Rue in close co-operation with the Qatar Central Bank, has achieved this whilst maintaining a thematic link to previous designs.

Banknotes Substrates, Features

Astrid Mitchell

27 May 2021

2 min read

A New Star is Born

Louisenthal has added a new security thread to its portfolio based on its RollingStar® technology, which combines two security technologies – ColourShift for colour changes and micro-mirrors for dynamic effects arranged according to highly complex algorithms. For the new thread, RollingStar® i+, the two technologies have, through intensive research and in conjunction with magnetics for machine-read, been elevated to a new level.

Banknotes Substrates, Features

Astrid Mitchell

27 May 2021

6 min read

Counterfeiters Turn their Attention to Polymer

It was only a matter of time! One of the claimed benefits of polymer is that it is more resistant to counterfeiting and hence more secure, and the figures bear that out.

Banknotes Counterfeiting

Astrid Mitchell

27 May 2021

3 min read

Smart Solutions for Banknote Destruction from CPS and Hunkeler

Whilst the focus on cash is generally concentrated on substrates and features, production and circulation, the end of life is also key as regards the secure, clean and efficient disposal of both waste and notes no longer fit for circulation.

Banknotes Companies Technology

Astrid Mitchell

27 May 2021

3 min read

Russia Moves Forward with New Series

The Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia, Mikhail Alekseev, has provided local media with more details of the new Russian series, which will start going into circulation with the new 100 rubles in 2022. It will be followed by the 1,000 and 5,000 rubles in 2023, the 500 rubles in 2024 and 10 and 50 rubles in 2025. The 200 and 2,000 rubles, both introduced in 2017, will not be included in the new series.

Banknotes Substrates, Features

Astrid Mitchell

27 May 2021

2 min read

CCL Secure Targets Note/Coin Boundary with SPARTAN

CCL Secure has unveiled SPARTAN™ – an ‘ultra-durable’ new polymer substrate that has been designed specifically to provide a new option for central banks and issuing authorities who have low denomination, high transaction velocity denominations that sit on the cusp of the note/coin boundary.

Banknotes Coins Companies

Astrid Mitchell

27 May 2021

2 min read

Vietnam Marks 18 Years of Polymer Banknotes

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) is celebrating not just its 70th anniversary, and the 30th anniversary of the National Banknote Printing Plant, but is also marking its 18th year of using polymer banknotes from CCL Secure.

Banknotes Substrates, Features

Kerre Corbin

27 May 2021

4 min read

Getting Behind the Counterfeit Banknote Statistics

COVID19 led to a decline in the number of counterfeit banknotes in 2020. Or did it?

Banknotes Counterfeiting COVID-19

Clemens Berger

29 April 2021

5 min read

Hybrid ADDvance® – Creating Long Lasting Confidence

In last month’s Currency News™, Clemens Berger of Louisenthal wrote about the importance of embedded security features and how they are the benchmark for the overwhelming majority of banknotes. This month, he follows up with more information specifically on how their substrate family – Hybrid ADDvance® – is part of that story.

Banknotes Substrates, Features

Astrid Mitchell

29 April 2021

2 min read

Mexico’s 100 Peso Wins IBNS Banknote of the Year Award

Mexico’s new 100 peso banknote has beaten more than 100 other candidates to win the prestigious Banknote of the Year Award for 2020, awarded by the International Bank Note Society (IBNS).

Banknotes

Astrid Mitchell

29 April 2021

4 min read

Denmark’s Route to Upgraded Banknotes

Late last year Danmarks Nationalbank began the upgrade of its banknote series with a new 500 kroner, setting the scene for more advanced security features across all its banknotes.

Banknotes Substrates, Features

Astrid Mitchell

29 April 2021

2 min read

Hybridised Systems – The Future of Banknotes?

At the recent Digital Document Security Online conference, held at the end of March, Sina Gebrodt, a final-year student at the Design Academy Eindhoven, reported on the project that she and Madison Bucher, a user-experience designer, had undertaken on the future of banknotes. This project was sponsored by Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (K&B).

Banknotes Technology

Tim Berridge

29 April 2021

4 min read

What Makes Polymer Banknotes Green?

For many people, their perception of plastic is negative. Plastic is one of the world’s ‘bad guys’ these days, with newspaper headlines and TV programmes dominated by images of polluted oceans or mountainous garbage dumps. But, as always, the truth is more nuanced than the ‘all plastic is bad’ trope might have you believe.

Banknotes Sustainability

Astrid Mitchell

29 April 2021

4 min read

A Match Made in Heaven – Portals to Acquire Fedrigoni’s Security Business

Portals, the second largest commercial banknote and security paper manufacturer, has entered into an agreement with Fedrigoni, one of the leading European producers of specialty papers and self-adhesive labels, to buy its security business based in Bollate in Italy, which specialises in security threads and foils.

Banknotes Companies