As noted in the December issue of Currency News™, as part of its recent restructuring Koenig & Bauer has spun out its inspection systems and protection technologies into a separate business unit – Vision & Protection (V&P) – headed by Julian Schubert, formerly Vice President of Data, Vision and Authentication Solutions.

At the recent High Security Printing™ EMEA conference in Basel, Switzerland, Dr Alexander Brannan from the University of Manchester, and Gary Spinks of Security Fibres UK, presented advances in colour-changing smart materials designed for rapid authentication. This technology addresses key issues in anticounterfeiting by integrating academic research with industrial application.

Back in May last year we covered the pre-launch at the Banknote Conference of a new polymer substrate from Covestro, and in December the official launch under the name CERTEVO®. It appears we were premature, as that launch referred to the version intended for ID and secure document, not currency.

Data both allows and creates questions. Answering questions generates information. Information allows decisions and actions. Without accurate, relevant, reliable, consistent, standardised and timely data, creating and delivering anything is hard, particularly change.

Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) has introduced the latest generation of its banknote processing systems – the BSP® C evo, which is an evolution of the BPS C2 and C2 mid-size sorters for commercial cash handlers.

Covestro has formally introduced its new polymer substrate for banknotes and secure documents, which it has branded CERTEVO®, stating that it marks a ‘significant advancement in document security, sustainability, and printing technology, combining performance and environmental responsibility.’

Many countries and regions are strengthening regulations to control environmental pollutants, chromium being a case in point as its emissions significantly impact the environment and human health. As a result, numerous countries have implemented strict standards and control measures to reduce chromium pollution.

SICPA unveiled the latest version of its SPARK® technology – SPARK Flow® STREAM – at the recent Global Currency Forum in Oman.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a comprehensive plan to revamp its currency management infrastructure over the next 4-5 years, mainly to ensure adequate storage and handling capacity to cater to the growing economy’s future cash needs.

Giesecke+Devrient first unveiled its new Banknote Fiber Extractor® (BFE) in July 2023, which extracts fibres from banknote waste that is suitable for high end repurposing. It has now announced the achievement of another milestone – namely the successful conversion in the first real-life test case of fibres from old banknotes into high quality cardboard at an industrial scale.