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March 2021

The ECB’s Environmental Sustainability Journey

Euro banknote production has a large stakeholder group – 19 national central banks (NCBs), 12 printing works, six paper mills and 22 raw material suppliers – overseen by the ECB through its regulations and co-operative working.

February 2021

UK Cash Industry Joins Forces to Meet Climate Targets

The response of the industry was impressive, with parties from the entire cash cycle involved – including the Bank of England, De La Rue and the Royal Mint, 13 commercial banks, retailers, machine suppliers, ATM companies, CITs and more.

January 2021

Record Low for Euro Counterfeits in 2020

Some 460,000 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation in 2020 (220,000 in the second half of the year), a decrease of 17.7% when compared with 2019.

December 2020

Public Accounts Committee Concerns About UK Banknotes and Coins

The Bank considers likely shocks that might require stocks and sets a minimum contingency stock level. It benchmarks this against other major central banks. The level set at the end of March was £20.5 billion and its revised figure at the end of July £15.6 billion.

November 2020

Virtual Awards for Real-Life Winners of Technical Excellence in Currency

With Banknote now taking place in 2021, IACA decided to take the awards online, and announced the winners of the three categories in a virtual ceremony held on 19 November.

October 2020

Industry Hits Back at Sensational Reporting of New COVID Study

The study found that the coronavirus can live on many surfaces, including banknotes, for significantly longer than initially assumed.

September 2020

Giving Old Polymer Notes a New Lease of Life in Industry’s 1st Recycling Centre

According to CCL Secure, as well as delivering a much reduced risk of counterfeiting, significantly longer life in circulation, and cleaner surface that’s less likely to harbour bacteria, polymer banknotes are also more environmentally sustainable than paper alternatives.

August 2020

Fed Chooses G+D for NextGen Currency Processing Equipment

The Federal Reserve System’s Cash Product Office announced earlier this month that Giesecke+Devrient Currency Technology America has been awarded a new contract to build the central bank’s next generation of high-speed currency processing equipment (NextGen).

July 2020

Federal Reserve and US Mint Take Action to Address Coin Shortages

The Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, told the House Financial Committee in Congress that ‘with the partial closure of the economy, the flow of coins through the economy has gotten… It’s kind of stopped.’

June 2020

Think Globally, Act Locally

Meanwhile, the logical advocates for cash, central banks, maintain determinedly their neutrality about different payment instruments and won’t promote one over another – arguing for choice and seeking the lowest payment cost to the economy and society.

May 2020

Is There a Future for Conferences?

We aren’t just publishers of Currency News™ – one of half of the publishing venture, Reconnaissance International, is also organiser of the three regional High Security printing conferences and the Optical and Digital Document Security events.

April 2020

Iconic New Home Symbolises the Future for Royal Dutch Mint

Even in these days of COVID-19-induced turmoil, not all plans and activities are on hold – as demonstrated by the Royal Dutch Mint, which has just moved into ultra-modern new premises that were constructed in a mere nine months.

March 2020

COVID-19 and Cash: a Not-so-Brave New World

On 11 March 2020 the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic. At around the same time, they also managed to convey an impression of cash in the context of the virus that could have long-lasting and damaging effects.

February 2020

Mexico and Australia Scoop Central Banking Awards

The Bank of Mexico was named Currency Manager of the Year for the way it is fulfilling its mandate to ensure an efficient money supply and guarantee the availability of cash in a country where this is not just a core but a growing means of payment – which it has achieved by opening a second printing facility and cash centre.

January 2020

Has the Eco’s Time Finally Come?

The introduction of a common currency for West Africa is coming closer to reality following the agreement late last year between Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, on behalf of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAMU) and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that the CFA franc will be replaced by the ‘eco’ from the middle of 2020.