One of the discussions at G+D’s July Currency Technology Symposium centred on how efficiency can be leveraged to build resilience across a wide range of scenarios through rethinking cash centre operations.

In the session at G+D’s July Currency Technology Symposium on cash initiatives around the world, a number of speakers described their cash cycles and access to cash. While the Dutch National Bank (DNB) is insourcing cash processing as cash volumes fall, cash volumes in Canada are now stable and the private sector is investing and innovating. In contrast South Africa is focused on working with stakeholders to manage note quality in circulation. It too, is looking at how to protect cash.

Banco de Guatemala put into circulation a new Q100 (quetzal) banknote in July. It is one of the most widely used denominations in the country and features a new dynamic Galaxy® Saturn thread.

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has launched new 50 and 100 baht (THB) banknotes on polymer, which will go into circulation in November. The launch builds on the success of the THB 20 note, which was issued in 2022, and which studies by the BOT have shown is four times more durable than its paper counterpart. The projected savings as a result over the eight years that the notes are expected to last are 350 million banknotes per year, reducing production, transport and resource costs.

In the August issue of Currency News we celebrated a number of houses notes – from Bundesdruckerei, PWPW, China Banknote Printing and Minting, and Casa da Moeda do Brasil – showcasing some of the best design and technology in today’s banknote features and print.

The International Currency Association (ICA) has announced the next Global Currency Forum (GCF), taking place 27–30 April 2026 at the Rixos Sungate resort in Antalya, Türkiye.

The International Day of Charity, which occurs annually on 5 September, recognises the role of charity in helping others.

Set against the backdrop of the Thermal Spa Island in the heart of Budapest, Jura’s third industry gathering brought together innovators, designers, and technologists from across the globe for two days of knowledge-sharing, collaboration and celebration.

The 2025 edition of the Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) Conference opened in Warsaw, Poland, from 15–17 September with the headline ‘Welcome to the Genius of Secure Documents’.

The speaker lineups for two upcoming currency events — the Americas Cash Cycle Seminar and the Cedi@60 Anniversary Currency Conference — are taking shape. Currency Research’s (CR) annual Americas Cash Cyle Seminar will be in Miami, Florida, 3-6 November, while the Cedi@60 Anniversary Currency Conference, hosted by the Bank of Ghana (BOG) in partnership with CR, will be in Accra, Ghana, 17–20 November.

Of the c. 1,000 circulating banknotes in the world from 166 issuing authorities, 35 denominations from eight issuers have a vertical (portrait) orientation on both the front and the reverse, 14 denominations from two issuers on the front only, and 54 denominations from 10 issuers on the reverse only.

Reportedly, China’s overarching goal for ecological civilization and green development is to build itself into a ‘Beautiful China’. Against this backdrop, a green transformation is quietly taking place at Nanchang Banknote Printing Co Ltd (NBPC). A subsidiary of China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation (CBPM), it is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and is progressively shifting from a traditionally polluting banknote printing facility into a ‘national-level green factory’.

The International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA) revealed the winners of its inaugural Excellence in Optical Technologies Awards – 2025 during a special ceremony held on 16 September at the Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference in Warsaw.

At the end of July, KURZ Banknote Security celebrated 30 years of security production at the Sulzbach-Rosenberg site in Germany with a two day customer event.

The US Federal Reserve has published the print order to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) for calendar year (CY) 2026, which is in the range of 3.8-5.1 billion notes, valued at $108.9-$139.6 billion. During the year, the Feder Reserve Board and BEP staff may adjust production of each denomination to best match demand throughout the year.

At Giesecke+Devrient’s July Currency Technology Symposium it ran nine different workshops and a half day at Papierfabrik Louisenthal (see CN July 2025). Three are covered here.

Households should keep some cash at home so they can pay for essentials during crises, according to an analysis of four major disruptive events in Europe, including the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Banque de France (BdF), in partnership with the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), organised an international seminar on 23–26 September 2025 in Paris dedicated to fighting currency counterfeiting.

The focus for this month’s summary of news from central bank annual reports and other sources is Central and South America, specifically Belize, Brazil and Honduras.

Dr Eyob Tekalign Tolina, State Minister at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance, has been named the new Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia. He replaces Mamo Mihretu.