At the High Security Printing™ Asia conference in Bangkok last December, currency and counterfeit expert Aleksei Faleev gave a presentation on a survey conducted among cashiers in Kyrgyzstan to gauge their knowledge of and preferences for banknote security features. He has subsequently written this article based on that presentation.

The Bank of Namibia has issued a new N$60 commemorative polymer banknote, celebrating the life and legacy of the late President HE Dr Hage G Geingob, who served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death in February 2024, aged 82.

The International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) has announced the finalists for the 2025 Excellence in Currency Awards, which are in four categories.

The Mint Directors Conference (MDC) was originally scheduled to take place in April 2020 in South Africa, but had to be postponed at short notice due to COVID. The event went ahead three years later, in Ottawa in October 2023, and now – five years on – is finally taking place in Cape Town, from 27-29 April, co-hosted by the South African Mint and with over 250 delegates from the minting industry taking part.

According to the Bank of Korea (BOK), last year it withdrew and disposed of 474.89 million damaged or contaminated banknotes, amounting to a total value of KRW 3.3761 trillion won, a 1.9% reduction over the previous year. The disposal of these notes is part of its ongoing efforts to maintain the integrity and quality of the currency in circulation, the central bank said. It also disposed of 101.53 million coins.

Biobanknote – the Colombian developer of solutions for composting banknotes and banknote waste – is planning to carry out a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) to evaluate the manufacturing and use of banknotes compared with digital transactions, in accordance with the internationally recognised standards ISO 14067 and ISO 14040.

Mark Wind of the Dutch National Bank (DNB) reported on the sustainability work of the Joint European Tender (JET) group at the Intergraf Currency+Identity conference. This is a tangible banknote specific example of an approach to using procurement to drive change.

Digitalisation is a buzzword that has been shaping industries for over 40 years, fundamentally transforming products and business models. In the security printing industry, this transformation is particularly relevant as smart devices become dominant tools for interaction and authentication.

Last month we reported on the 2024 counterfeit figures for the euro. This month is the turn of coins, with figures from the European Commission detailing a sharp increase in the number of counterfeits in 2023 (the most recent year on which it has reported) to 480,371 – up 62% compared to 2022 and the highest level by far since the introduction of the euro in 2002.

De La Rue has issued a trading update for 2025 and 2026, in which it said that its currency division will beat expectations of double- digit core earnings growth in the 2026 fiscal year, supported by stronger orders as demand returns.

Following the issue of an EoI (Expressions of Interest) for the ‘Procurement of Consultancy and Project Management Services for Modernisation of Currency Management Infrastructure in India’, the Reserve Bank of India has shortlisted six companies to participate in the next stage, namely a Request for Proposal (RFP).

Central Banking Publications has announced all 27 winners of its 2025 awards, which are now in their 12th year. The Central Banking Awards recognise outstanding achievements in the central banking community and two of the 27 relate specifically to currency.

In 2024 the Mint of Finland announced it was to close, and The Royal Mint announced its withdrawal from the export market. Both were seen as signs of an industry in decline, but perhaps benefiting from these development, the latest reports from two leading mints – those of Poland and France – tell a different and altogether more positive story.

Oberthur Fiduciaire has partnered with Giriraj Foils, a well-respected name in India’s high-security films, stamping foils and laminates market, to deliver advanced authentication solutions tailored for the Indian market. The partnership was announced at the ASPA Traceability and Authentication Forum in New Delhi earlier this month.

Last month, we covered the annual results of four of the major companies in the cash sector – Crane NXT, Brinks, Loomis, and Diebold Nixdorf, all of which turned in a respectable performance, showing that the challenges of the COVID years are now a thing of the past.

President João Lourenço of Angola has officially opened the National Bank of Angola’s new high-tech cash centre – Casa do Kwanza – in the capital, Luanda for the storage, processing and distribution of the country’s currency, the kwanza. The cash centre has been four years in the making, at a budgeted cost of c. Kz 33 billion, and will be able to process up to 4 million banknotes daily.

Pakistan’s banknote papermaker Security Papers Ltd (SPL) has entered into a strategic partnership with Giesecke+Devrient to upgrade its PM-2 paper machine, first commissioned in 2004. This initiative aims to enhance SPL’s capacity to produce banknote paper that meets international standards and incorporates the latest security features.

In case you missed it, 8 March was International Women’s Day. It was an opportunity for organisations to celebrate the achievements of the women in their workforce, notably on social media. The currency industry, traditionally viewed as a bastion of male dominance, was no exception.

Last month, we reported that Saudi Arabia has a new currency symbol for the riyal. This month, its neighbour, the United Arab Emirates, has also unveiled a new currency symbol for the dirham – both physical and digital.

The Central Bank of the UAE has issued a new 100 dirham (AED) polymer banknote, printed by Oumolat on SAFEGUARD with two clear windows. It is part of the CBUAE’s Third Issuance of the National Currency Project, and the final note to be issued in the all-polymer series, which comprises five denominations.