In 2021, Currency News™ issued a special supplement – Concept Notes: Art, Design and Security in One – which reviewed the latest and best ‘concept’ or ‘house’ notes. Following the success of this supplement, we will issue the second version in 2024, covering the newest concept notes over the intervening period.

Rather than have a regional focus in this month’s coverage of cash information in central bank annual reports, we are doing a general catch-up this month, with news from the recently-issued reports of the central banks of Fiji, Romania and Russia.

As part of its centenary anniversary celebrations, Komori has produced a house note, The Phoenix 2023. This note celebrates and brings to life Komori’s concept of ‘Power to the Print – Technology that Empowers’.

Currency News™ spoke to Mr Junya Shimada – Executive Operating Officer and Group General Manager – about the company’s foundations, its current focus, its philosophy and how it plans to leverage this to go forward in an ever-changing social and technological landscape.

Hueck Folien, a family owned company based in Baumgartenberg, Austria has been supplying security products – initially security threads, followed by holographic/diffractive stripes – to the banknote industry for 35 years.

This year’s prestigious Regional Banknote of the Year Awards for Asia were presented at a special ceremony during the High Security Printing™ (HSP) Asia conference earlier this month.

Polymer appears to be something of a ‘thing’ in this issue. So, having heard from one established and one emerging polymer substrate manufacturer – De La Rue and Spectra Systems respectively – it seems only fair to hear from the second established manufacturer, CCL Secure, who has provided an end of year summary for GUARDIAN™.

Spectra Systems Corporation has agreed to buy security printer Cartor Holdings in a deal worth up to £10.5 million. It has described the move as a strategic acquisition to bolster its position in the polymer banknote substrate market.

The Hologram Image Register, established by the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) to help safeguard hologram copyright and underpin the use of holograms in secure documents and products, has been extended to include all optically variable (or active) features, and relaunched as the Security Image Register.

All of the key themes facing the banknote industry were covered at the High Security Printing Asia conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, held at the beginning of December.

De La Rue appears to be enjoying a rebound following multiple new contract wins and growing demand for banknotes.

The Bank of Japan and the Finance Ministry have announced that the redesigned 10,000, 5,000 and 1,000 yen banknotes will enter circulation on 3 July 2024, which marks the first update of the notes in around two decades.

All eyes on Africa as Egypt hosts spectacular ACF; Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBBS) teams with SONECT for access to cash...

In 2023, we decided to drop Industry Watch – the quarterly review of the share performance of listed companies in our sector – and provide an annual summary instead.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has issued a new denomination $2 commemorative banknote in celebration of its 40th anniversary.

Danmarks Nationalbank has carried out an analysis of the role of cash in a low cash usage society. 10% of payments are still made in cash and there are groups in society for whom cash is important whether out of necessity or choice. The result is that changes will be made to the currency.

Cash technology solutions specialist Glory has announced the acquisition of additional shares in the fintech OneBanx, the fully managed shared banking solutions provider.

The growth of the internet and social media has been accompanied by a growth in fake news and a fall in traditional, fact-checked journalism. Articles and claims can be circulated freely without appropriate governance. Fake news on a range of issues has incited violence and hate while changing behaviours and influencing politics. It can also damage reputations and lead to unfair advantages.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has issued the findings of its Product Environment Footprint (PEF) study, which focuses on the creation and life cycle of banknotes through to their disposal when they become unfit to circulate.

Many people fall victim to the ‘Black Money’ scam, which is basically a get rich quick scheme. Usually there are no counterfeit banknotes involved, but I thought this would be an interesting topic to discuss.

In November 1993, the first President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, signed a decree ‘On the introduction of the national currency of the Republic of Kazakhstan’. Following this, the tenge became the official currency of the country.

The Central Bank of the UAE has issued a new 500 dirham banknote – the fifth in its new all-polymer series, which has been progressively rolled out since 2022.

META Materials Inc, a developer of high performance functional materials and nanocomposites which acquired security feature specialist Nanotech Security Corp in 2021, has announced details of a restucturing plan that will see it focus on core business lines that are either generating revenues, or expected to do so in the near future.

Bank Al-Maghrib has issued a new coin series as part of its latest round of currency updates. Alongside new 10 and 20 centimes, and ½ dirham, 1, 5 s and and 10 dirham coins, an updated 100 dirham banknote has also been issued as the first in a new note series.

The Intergraf Currency + Identity Conference and Exhibition took place from 18-20 October in Bilbao, Spain. The Bilbao Exhibition Centre hosted this year’s 940-plus participants from the two branches of the industry, of which more than 170 were from central banks, government and law enforcement, along with 107 exhibitors.

The 6th International Mint and Print (MAP) Conference took place in Dubai. Just under 200 delegates from around 90 institutions and 40 countries took part in the event, organised by Mazen Hamden, with approximately 25% attending for the first time.

At the awards ceremony held during the gala dinner at the Mint Directors Conference in Ottawa last month, the winner of the Best Circulating Coin category was the Royal Australian Mint (RAM) for the $2 Honey Bee coin, issued in 2022 as a joint collaboration with the Honey Bee Industry Council to mark the bicentennial of the establishment of the bee industry in Australia.

The 2023 CashTech Innovation Awards, arranged by the thinktank CashEssentials and sponsored by Sesami, were presented at the Future of Cash conference, which took place 6-8 November in Istanbul.

Banknote security features won two out of the five categories in the 2023 Excellence in Holography Awards, presented by the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) at the recent annual online Holography Conference.

Earlier this year Giesecke+Devrient outlined a solution for banknote waste which is ‘straightforward, flexible and scalable’ (see CN July 2023). After having introduced the concept of Banknote Fibre Extraction (BFE) at the CT Symposium, the next development phase has taken place.

Readers will recall in earlier editions that we addressed a number of significant highlights following G+D`s Currency Technology Symposium held in July. This is the final story, focusing on key elements of the day dedicated to Louisenthal, G+D’s substrate and feature subsidiary.

The focus of this month’s coverage of cash information in central bank annual reports is Asia, looking specifically at Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Japan and New Zealand.

In this issue, we describe the industry’s newest banknote production facility – IMBISA in Spain. Another example of a new printworks that has also built innovation in from the start is Guangzhou Banknote Printing Co Ltd (GBPC), the seventh and newest of China Banknote Printing and Minting’s banknote factories.

The International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) held a webinar recently to discuss how sustainability is, and can be, incorporated into tenders by central banks. Purchasing power is, of course, a powerful lever for achieving policy goals.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is seeking to standardise the parameters used by banknote sorting machines to ensure uniform fitness standards across the different models and makes of equipment being used.

Established in 2020 to support national law enforcement authorities in their efforts to fight financial and economic crimes and aid international cooperation, Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre (EFECC) has recently released its first threat assessment on the matter.

Ibrahim Stevens has become Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone. He has been First Deputy Governor since July 2014, and succeeds Kelfala Kallon.

Bank Note Paper Mill India Ltd (BNPMIL) has recently celebrated its Foundation Day.

As Currency News™ went to press, news came out that the cash management firms Armaguard, with a 90% share of the market, is seeking a cash injection to ensure it can operate its banknote distribution services profitably, just five months after it merged with rival Prosegur to create a near-monopoly that was supposed to do just that (see CN June 2023).

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed that it will allow old banknotes that were due to be phased out in December to remain legal tender indefinitely, following a ruling by the country’s Supreme Court.

Euro banknotes are set to be adorned with either rivers and birds, or images of European culture, as the Governing Council of European Central Bank (ECB) whittles down options for the first redesign of the currency since its inception.

As covered in last month’s Currency News, in the Spring of 2023 Oberthur Fiduciaire took out a majority stake in Rolling Optics, which was founded in 2005 with solid technical background from research at the Ångström Laboratory at Uppsala University, Sweden.

The Banknote Conference, held every two years, is an independent, neutral forum for industry leaders to meet and discuss innovations, efficiencies, best practices, and new technologies and solutions that benefit their operations.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) roared into the public consciousness in 2023. Its widespread use and, more importantly, its potential have become visible to all, not just the small specialist user community that has been working on it for years. Clearly, AI is of great interest to central banks from the policy makers through the cash issue department.

Further to the coverage in the August issue of the cash information contained in the latest annual reports of central banks in Europe, this month we take a look at some from Africa and the Middle East.

The Royal Mint has unveiled eight new coin designs inspired by flora and fauna across Britain that will soon appear on official UK coins, ranging from the 1p to the £2.

The Monetary Authority of Macao, together with the country’s two note issuing banks – Bank of China and Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) – have held a presentation to unveil a new series of banknotes with enhanced features for security and the visually impaired.

This year the Americas Cash Cycle and Payments Seminar is taking place 27-30 November at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida.

The organisers of the High Security Printing™ (HSP) conferences, Reconnaissance International, have announced the programme for the upcoming HSP Asia event, which – after a four year absence due to COVID – finally takes place in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 4-6 December 2023.

UnderCurrency was established in 2019 as a technical consultancy service. We are based in Mexico and specialise in methodologies, solutions and systems for evaluating and enhancing the security, functionality and durability of secure documents and banknotes.

German-based ISRA Vision’s BankSTAR family of in-line inspection solution has been extended by a version for security thread microslitting – BankSTAR TS.

Khalid Ibrahim Humaidan has been appointed the next Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, replacing Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj.

Why do so many shops rely on the counterfeit detection pen to authenticate their paper banknotes?

Currency News™ sat down with Marilou in one of CBN’s three manufacturing facilities in Ottawa to find out more about the company, its markets, its unique strengths, and how she is managing to continue the legacy of her husband and put culture and people at the heart of everything CBN does.

Oumolat Security Printing, owned by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE), has entered into a strategic partnership with SICPA to print enhanced tax stamps and track activities through the integration of advanced technologies.

Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBBS) is continuing its strategy of innovating with partner companies.

The Royal Australian Mint (RAM) has now published its report and accounts for 2022-2023.

The UK’s Cash Industry Environmental Charter Group (CIEC), which consists of more than 30 organisations active in cash working together to establish best practice and drive change, has reported on its progress.

The International Currency Association (ICA), representing the global currency sector, held its Annual General Meeting in Bilbao, Spain during the Intergraf Currency+Identity conference, and elected the Board for the next two years.

At the recent Mint Directors Conference in Ottawa, the Mint Directors Association (MDA) was formally announced. It has now been legally incorporated as a not-for-profit association, and is the successor to the MDC, the looser association of mint directors that has been in existence since 1962.

NCR Corporation has successfully completed its planned separation into two publicly traded companies. NCR Atleos, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on 17 October under the symbol NATL, has carved out the ATM and self-service banking part of NCR, whilst NCR Voyix is responsible for digital commerce.

As published in July`s edition of Currency News, Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) held its Currency Technology Symposium 2023 that month in Munich, the main themes of which were resilience, hyper-efficiency and sustainability within the cash cycle, and the role of cash in today´s world.

Post COVID-19, following Manila in 2022, the Asia Cash Cycle Seminar (ICCOS) headed to Bangkok this year, organised by Currency Research with the Bank of Thailand as co-host.

Earlier this year, Oberthur Fiduciaire announced the acquisition of a 65.5% stake in Rolling Optics. The Swedish-based company uses micro-lens patterns to create 3D effects in film, and its technology already underpins some of the existing micro-optics security features on the market (see CN February 2023).

After the International Bank Note Society (IBNS) announced earlier this year that the Philippines’ new polymer 1,000 piso was the 2022 Banknote of the Year winner (see CN April 2023), the Melbourne branch of the IBNS formally presented the award to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Assistant Governor Mary Anne Lim in a ceremony held at Note Printing Australia.

Over the course of the last four years, four currency series in the Caribbean have converted to polymer – starting with the East Caribbean dollar in 2019, followed by Trinidad and Tobago in 2020, then Barbados in 2022 and, most recently, Jamaica this summer.

Following the coverage of the iLearn partnership between Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBBS) and Aflatoun International in last month’s Currency News™, an important event is coming up on the subject of financial literacy.

China Banknote Ink Co Ltd (CBI) provides security inks and related products for China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation (CBPM).

So called ‘normal times’ ended in many respects more than three years ago, in early 2020. Since then, developments have been characterised by growing uncertainty and volatility, first by the COVID-19 pandemic and disruption of global supply chains, and then by geopolitical tensions created by the Russian attack on Ukraine and inflation of food and energy prices.

In March, Currency News™ featured an interview with Dr Wolfram Seidemann, CEO of G+D Currency, on the topic of building a resilient cash infrastructure.

Reconnaissance International, co-publisher of Currency News™, is pleased to announce the release of its new report – ‘Smartphones for Authentication’ – the only publication of its kind.

Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBBS) has launched its EQUINOX24 global event, which will take place in Lausanne, Switzerland from 20 May to 14 June 2024.

The Future of Cash conference typically attracts some 120 participants from central and commercial banks, CIT and cash management companies, academics and other cash cycle stakeholders. The 2023 event takes place 6-8 November in Istanbul, and the full agenda is now available.

The Future of Cash Conference 2023 (Istanbul, 6-8 November) will kick-off with a research seminar organised by CashEssentials. International researchers from different fields will discuss whether cash qualifies as a public good or as a basic right, and the policy implications of this.

Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBBS) has introduced the next iteration in its computer-to-intaglio plate technology with CTiP III, which it claims has a better ecological impact as well as offering new intaglio engraving opportunities to printers.

The Banknote Ethics Initiative (BnEI) has announced the appointment of Prof Deon Rossouw, the CEO of The Ethics Institute in South Africa, as its new Chairman. He takes up his new position in October.

Until relatively recently, we ran a round-up of company results in the quarterly Industry Watch. We have replaced this with a periodic summary of central bank annual reports relating to cash, but continue to cover the companies in our sector with reviews of their interim and annual results.

SICPA and the INX Digital Company – the US-regulated broker-dealer, ATS, and transfer agent which offers the first-ever SEC-regulated digital asset trading platform for both cryptocurrencies and security tokens – have launched a new joint venture, Nabatech, to aid government and central bank construct sovereign digital asset ecosystems.

Three well-known faces from our industry have joined forces to set up a new firm offering consulting and advisory services for governments, central banks, security printing house, technology suppliers, brand owners and financial investors.

In 2022, Global Compact Réseau France launched the SDG Awards, designed to reward companies in all sectors that contribute to the concrete implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and are committed to initiatives that advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The London Climate Technology Show, which took place end September, was full of start-ups and other more established companies offering solutions to measure your environmental footprint, to offset your carbon, to sequester your carbon in the soil/ocean/trees etc. etc. etc.

Toshiba – the Japanese industrial conglomerate and one of only two producers of high speed currency processing systems – has announced that a ¥2 trillion ($14 billion) tender offer from private equity firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) has ended in success, paving the way for the company to go private.

The Federal Reserve has started a publicity campaign for its FedCash® E-Manifest Service. The new system is digitising a hitherto manual system for matching paper manifests for deposits and orders at Federal Reserve docks with a technology based on GSI US standards that enables scanning and the electronic exchange of data in real time.

Do you want to hear about an actual counterfeiting case? Well, here is your chance! The High Security Printing (HSP) Conference Asia is taking place in Sri Lanka, 4-6 December 2023. Register now for what will prove to be a most interesting Counterfeit Workshop, entitled ‘Operation Timerbrier – A Counterfeiters’ Fall from Glory’.

Koenig & Bauer Banknotes Solutions (KBBS) is forging ahead with its agenda to create physical-digital technology bridges with the announcement of two new partnerships linked to digital authentication.

Meta Materials, under its former name of Nanotech Security Corporation, has been a pioneer in banknote OVD technology for the past decade with innovations in micro-, nano- and now plasmonic structures.

The Vacuumatic Group, in operation for over 70 years, has announced a restructuring programme involving the closure of its headquarters at Colchester in the UK, and the transfer of production to its former sales and service subsidiary in Germany.

Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBBS) and Aflatoun International, a global leader in innovative financial literacy ecosystems, have announced a new partnership to explore and develop new ways to enable access to financial literacy resources, using banknotes as a tool.

The Mint Directors Conference 2023 is fast approaching and the Royal Canadian Mint have shared highlights of the programme, comprising two days of thought-provoking sessions.

In his interview in last month’s Currency News, Frederic Trojani, CEO of SURYS, referenced a new thread from the company, Vibes™.

Banknotes have changed considerably since De La Rue printed its first paper money for Mauritius in 1860. The adoption of lithography introduced more colourful designs, patterns, and imagery. Security features such as watermarks, polymer windows, threads, novel inks, and applied features then additionally introduced contrasting textures and sheen, movement and complexity.

Miguel López, Research and Development Unit Manager in Banco de España recently presented a new way of designing cash, Neurocash, at both the EMEA and Latin American High Security Printing conferences.

Currency News caught up with Roeland Monasch, CEO of Aflatoun International, and Mark Stevenson, KBBS Market Development Manager, at Aflatoun’s headquarters in Amsterdam, to find out more about the companies' new partnership in the financial literacy space.

KURZ, the leading supplier of security foils with diffractive features, has produced a new reference book with a wide selection of images of banknotes that have utilised its KINEGRAM® technology.

Giesecke+Devrient has announced the next generation of its BPS® M systems for banknote processing – the BPS® M evo series.

The Central Bank of Jordan has issued the fifth and final note in its new series – the 5 Jordanian dinar (JD).

The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) has been reinstated as a unified sovereign institution, almost a decade after it was split in two because of the civil war.

The production of a million banknotes (or one shift of an intaglio printing line) produces 100 kg of intaglio ‘sludge’. Sludge is frequently sent to landfill because of its contamination in the process used to extract it from the printing process.

In the June issue of Currency News™, our lead article was on laws to protect cash gaining momentum, with specific reference to the euro and a proposal on legal tender status for notes and coins. This month we look at some developments on an individual country basis in Europe regarding enshrining the right to cash in law, both within and outside the eurozone.

Banking on World Heritage, a first-of-its-kind exhibition, was held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi from 30 June to 9 July. It was conceptualised and curated by Ms Rukmini Dahanukar, an independent research scholar under her proprietary research, ‘Money Talks’, that unfolds the untold story of banknote art and design from around the world.

Plans for the separation of NCR Corporation into two separate businesses is moving apace, with the US Securities and Exchange Commission declaring effective the registration on Form 10. The two new businesses, NCR Atleos and NCR Voyix, will focus on ATMs and digital commerce in retail, hospitality and banking, respectively.

Hitachi Payment Services, India’s leading integrated payment solutions provider and a subsidiary of the Japanese multinational technology conglomeration Hitachi, has entered into an agreement to acquire the cash management business of Writer Safeguard from its parent, the Writer Corporation.

This month we look at Europe, and the annual reports of some Eurosystem central banks, as well as the central banks of Albania, Denmark, Kosovo and Hungary.

This month we look at how to deter the most common types of counterfeits.

CBDCs started to become visible in published papers and discussions around 2016. No doubt there was much material before then but the acceleration of interest and activity has taken CBDCs from a niche to main stream media discussions.

The Reserve Bank of Fiji has released a commemorative banknote to celebrate the Chinese Lunar Year of the Dragon. The date of issue – the eighth day of the eighth month– is an auspicious one, the number 8 being the luckiest in Chinese culture, symbolising wealth and good fortune.

What do the KGB, the Chinese Communist Party, the Canadian Prime Minister and the UK’s Brexit campaign leader have in common?

Biobanknote, developer of solutions for repurposing end of life banknotes and the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú have recently conducted a composting test with the waste from banknotes withdrawn from circulation at the Control Ambiental plant.

Giesecke+Devrient held its Currency Technology Symposium 2023 in July in Munich. Normally a biennial event, this is the first to be held since 2019 due to COVID, and was attended by more than 300 customers from central banks, printworks and commercial cash handling industry.

KURZ, the market leader in security foils for banknotes, has announced that it has been awarded a silver medal from the well-known sustainability rating agency EcoVadis, having achieved excellent results in all four areas examined – the environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.

Let’s talk statistics, even though it is not my favourite subject!

The Polish state-owned printer and papermaker PWPW is building a new banknote printing plant and paper mill on an 18-hectare site in Warsaw, recently purchased from the state-owned pharmaceutical company Polfa Tarchomin for PLN 143 million (€32 million).

IN Groupe, owners of the optical features specialist SURYS, has agreed to buy 100% of the shares of Gleitsmann Security Inks from hubergroup Deutschland for an undisclosed consideration in cash.

Bulgaria is delaying its entry into the eurozone, and is likely to adopt the single currency in January 2025, as opposed to 2024 as originally planned.

Hyosung Innovue (formerly knowns as Hyosung America and the North American subsidiary of South Korean ATM manufacturer Hyosung TNS) has announced the launch of the new Cajera Pivot recycling ATM series for retail applications.

The Mint of Poland (Mennica Polska), which trades on the Warsaw Stock Exchange as the only publicly-listed mint, has three distinct business segments – minting, electronic payments and real estate development.

Demonetisation has had something of a bad press in recent years, the disruption caused by the removal of the 500 and 1,000 rupees in India of 2016 and, more recently, Nigeria’s naira redesign being cases in point.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is asking European citizens about their views on the proposed themes for the next series of euro banknotes, which have now been made public.

The Cavendish banana, the world’s most consumed fruit, is at risk of extinction due to climate change, viruses and unsustainable agricultural practices. The banana’s decline, suggests Tortoise Media, a UK news organisation, ‘is yet another flashing red light in an economic ecosystem that has ruthlessly prioritised convenience over resilience.’

The Banknote Ethics Initiative (BnEI), which is 10 years old this year, now has 15 members after Oumolat Security Printing LLC was formally accredited by the BnEI Accreditation Council.

The Royal Mint (TRM) announced its results for 2022/23 which, according to Anne Jessopp, its Chief Executive, was a pivotal year as it embarked on a five year business transformation plan.

Michele Bullock has been announced as the next Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), making her the first woman to lead the central bank. She replaces Philip Lowe, and will begin her seven-year term in September.

In our latest monthly summary of central bank annual reports, we look at the Philippines, Korea, Indonesia, Liberia, Eastern Caribbean, Colombia and Taiwan.

Currency News spoke to Frederic Trojani, CEO of SURYS and Executive Vice President for the Secured Components Division of IN Groupe, about the company’s history, how being part of IN Groupe is helping it fulfil its ambitions in the currency market, and the benefits that the two recent acquisitions will bring.

Security features embedded into the substrate of a banknote are particularly difficult for counterfeiters to replicate effectively – and the technology behind these features has advanced significantly in the past several years.

Meta Materials Inc has been a pioneer in banknote OVD technology for the past decade with innovations in micro-, nano- and now plasmonic structures. The company has also developed in-house secure foil production so that it can offer banknote stripes direct to customers.

The Currency Conference took part in Mexico City in May 2023, overlapping with the Digital Currency Conference.

The July issue of Cash & Payment News™ – our sister publication, analyses how cash is used and the wider payments eco-system.

The Central Bank of Belize is to issue a new currency series, which will feature images of national heroes rather than the head of state, King Charles III.

The Bank of Japan will start issuing its new series of banknotes in around the first half of July 2024. The actual date of issue will be announced when the necessary preparations have been completed.

China Banknote Designing and Engraving Co, part of the family of companies belonging to China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation, has brand-new inspection and platemaking systems to meet increasing innovation requirements and demand.

On 17 July the Central Bank of Lesotho unveiled its first Green Banknote, in commemoration of the 60th birthday of the King of Lesotho, His Majesty King Letsie III, who has reigned since 1996.

According to China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation (CBPM), it has been working on sustainable development for some time and has developed a range of solutions to increase the use of clean energy and efficiency.

To mark the 50th anniversary of the creation in June 1973 of the ouguiya (MRU) as the national currency of the West African state of Mauritania, the Banque Centrale de Mauritanie is issuing a commemorative MRU 50 banknote on not one but three different substrates.

Nassau, the Bahamas was the spectacular setting for the 10th HSP (High Security Printing) Latin America conference, which welcomed 250 delegates from 118 organisations and 36 countries, over half from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Banknote users see a holistic banknote when they transact but our industry doesn’t always think holistically. A significant proportion of our time is focussed on individual components and, whilst these are incredibly important, we risk overlooking the essential role of integration in unlocking the next wave of banknote innovation.

SUSI Optics® Jazz™, the latest addition to the SUSI Optics® family of optically variable features for banknotes, was launched at the Currency Conference in May, with a stunning specimen note produced to demonstrate the spectrum of opportunities it offers.

At the Currency Conference in May, Dieter Sauter, Vice President & General Manager Value Printing for Bundesdruckerei, unveiled the concept behind the ‘Dark Banknote Series‘, and the first note in this series (ExNihilo), which is the result of the SIRALab initiative.

The Currency Conference took part in Mexico City in May 2023, overlapping with the Digital Currency Conference. This report is the first of two summaries of the conference.

Design testing is not easy but is good practice. Ernesto Gonzalez Candela of Mexican firm UnderCurrency, which offers consulting services and products to assess and improve the performance of banknotes and coins, presented a new tool at the Optical and Digital Document Security conference in April to help central banks optimise their banknote designs and have confidence that they will perform in circulation.

The independent think tank CashEssentials has launched two new initiatives – the Cash Academic Network and the Cash Associations’ Forum – both aimed at building bridges within different groups of the cash community.

Cash & Payment News™ is our sister publication and, in its coverage and analysis of how cash is used and the wider payments eco-system, is a perfect complement to the issues covered by Currency News™.

Nominations are now open for the MDC’s prestigious Coin Awards. Last held in 2018, the awards recognise industry achievements in the design, production and packaging of coins, as well as, for the first time, sustainability in minting.

‘Make in India’, the long-running government-sponsored initiative to ‘on-shore’ production and reduce imports, is now resulting in Indian entities becoming global providers.

The prestigious Regional Banknote and ID Document of the Year Awards form part of the industry’s annual High Security Printing™ (HSP) Latin America conference.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has finally approved the merger of Australia’s two largest cash in transit companies – Linfox Armaguard and Prosegur Australia. The merger will create a single cash logistics provider, operating under the Armaguard name, with an estimated market share of more than 90%.

The Bank of Jamaica’s new banknote series has now gone into circulation, marking a complete transition to polymer for the country’s currency.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has issued a new 20 pound (LE) note on polymer, following the issue of a polymer LE10 last year.

In this, the latest in our monthly summary of central bank annual reports, we look at Thailand, India, Peru, Tunisia, Timor-Leste, Ukraine and Hong Kong.

In its annual report for 2022-23, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has provided details of the financial performance of its minting and banknote printing subsidiaries South African Mint (SAM) and South African Bank Note (SABN).

Whilst NCR appears to be going from strength to strength, the same cannot be said of Diebold Nixdorf, No 2 in the marketplace.

NCR Corporation is the market leader in self-service banking and payment solutions, with a turnover of $7.83 billion in 2022, more than double that of its nearest rival, Diebold Nixdorf (see below).

The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, has published a proposal on the legal tender status of euro banknotes and coins. The proposal is part of the Single Currency legislative package which also includes a legal text on a digital euro.

De la Rue has announced its results for the financial year ending March 2023. These were eagerly awaited following a trading update issued by the company April (see CN April 2023).

If you are responsible for the design and issue of a new banknote, you face a daunting task. As the latest edition of Currency News™ suggests, it can be a complex and unenviable undertaking. Frankly, good luck!

This month I would like to discuss the proliferation of novelty notes, which are purchased online and used in exchange for goods and services.

SICPA has formally inaugurated the unlimitrust campus, the world’s first centre of excellence dedicated to the Economy of Trust which is assembling innovation players into one single community.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the withdrawal of the 2,000 rupee banknote from circulation, albeit that it will continue to be legal tender. Even so, the public is being urged to exchange the notes before 30 September, marking the end of this denomination which was only introduced in 2016.

In a continuation of our new series in Currency News providing a summary of the latest central bank annual reports to be released, this month is the turn of the Bahamas, Canada, Jamaica, Mauritius, Nepal and the UAE.

The Currency Conference gala dinner on 16 May hosted the presentation of the latest International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) 2021 Technical Excellence in Currency Awards.

As the crisis in Sudan appears to be sliding inexorably towards civil war, the UN and its non-governmental partners are planning for a protracted humanitarian catastrophe.

Blendpaper was one of the presenters in the second episode of the Cash & Payments Sustainability Forum™ online seminar series on repurposing unfit cotton banknotes.

Welcome to ‘Kerre’s Counterfeit Corner’. This new monthly column will cover many aspects of counterfeit banknotes and periodically include interesting counterfeit examples.

Further to holding the inaugural Global Currency Forum in May last year, the International Currency Association (ICA) has recently issued a white paper on cash policy as part of its advocacy work, and welcomed a new Chair and Vice Chair.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has released an upgraded set of banknotes and coins, which feature enhanced security features, colour, and – for the coins – new fauna and flora.

Giesecke+Devrient will be holding its customer event – the G+D Currency Technology Symposium – from 17-20 July at its headquarters in Munich.

Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) has acquired MECOMO AG, a specialist in tracking and tracing solutions for an undisclosed sum.

Gleitsmann Security Inks (GIS) used the Currency Conference to launch glairINK , a new suite of infrared (IR) inks for intaglio and offset printing that, the company says, sets a new standard in future machine-readable security features for banknotes.

Authentix has announced that it is now in commercial production of the world’s first CDI2 compliant banknote detectors including GemVision™, a CDI2 compliant fitness solution for the determination of banknote quality.

Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBBNS) and GIETZ have announced a new strategic partnership in the domain of OVD application for banknotes.

The Royal Canadian Mint has published its results for 2022, stating that, whilst its financial performance was below 2021 levels, this was expected given the exceptional performance seen in 2021, and planned operational maintenance in 2022. The Mint still exceeded its financial goals for 2022, as set out in the Corporate Plan.

Glory – the Japanese developer of cash handling, management and automation systems for the financial, retail, vending, transportation and gaming sectors – saw sales recover in 2022-23.

IN Groupe, global specialist in identities and digital services and owner of the OVD developer SURYS, has announced that it has signed an agreement with Portals, the UK supplier of security features and, until recently, banknote paper, for the sale of its security components business. Based in Bollate in Italy, the business was acquired by Portals from Fedrigoni in 2021.

The Central Bank of Solomon Islands has announced plans to issue a new commemorative $10 banknote printed on SAFEGUARD® polymer by De La Rue. The new $10 note has been produced to commemorate the XVII Pacific Games 2023, which will be held for the first time Solomon Islands in November 2023.

Federal Reserve Financial Services and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco have appointed Steve Son as Senior Vice President and Head of FedCash Services Business Solutions and Support, a position previously held by Kathleen Young before she was promoted to Chief of FedCash Services.

At the end of March, the International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) held a members-only webinar which focused on the best practices in Level 3 security feature selection and use.

In 2020 Fedrigoni sold its Brazilian paper mill and Blendpaper / BP Security were created. The mill was originally founded in 1889 as Papel de Salto but was taken over by ArjoMari/Papel Simão in 1976, by Arjowiggins in 1997, and finally by Fedrigoni in 2015.

Banking on World Heritage is a new exhibition that will take place in New Delhi this summer to coincide with the year in which India will be hosting the G20 summit and also to mark the golden anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, the international treaty to conserve nature and preserve cultural properties.

As noted in the April issue of Currency News™, in which we covered Koenig & Bauer’s annual results for 2022, Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBBNS) is demonstrating its commitment to the future of currency through a range of new investments in processes, technologies and services.

The 2023 Future of Cash Conference takes place 6-8 November in Istanbul, and will bring together all stakeholders of the cash community – central banks, financial institutions, retailers, cash management companies, technology providers and suppliers - to discuss new strategies to design the cash cycle of the future.

The Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference and exhibition, held in Prague, Czech Republic from 17-19 April 2023, attracted over 170 delegates from 94 global organisations, along with 24 representatives from government and research academia.

We are used to a steady stream of headlines about cashless payments. But here are a handful of headlines in English speaking publications from the last few months:

The Central Bank of Solomon Islands has announced plans to issue a new commemorative $10 banknote printed on SAFEGUARD® polymer by De La Rue.

All arrangements are now in place for this year’s High Security Printing Latin America, which takes place in Nassau, the Bahamas from 5-7 June.

The United States Mint continued to manufacture circulating coins at high levels in 2022, albeit fewer than in the two previous years, which had been characterised by coins not circulating through the economy as rapidly as before the pandemic. The drop in volumes produced and revenues for the year marked a return to a more normal pattern of demand.

Private equity group Aurelius has announced the successful completion of the acquisition of Agfa Offset Solutions from the Agfa-Gevaert Group for €92 million.

When we look at a piece of art, what exactly are we seeing? This of course depends on who we are, expert or amateur; but it also depends on our mood, our state of mind, and how much time we have.

The 2023 Future of Cash Conference takes place 6-8 November in Istanbul, and will bring together all stakeholders of the cash community – central banks, financial institutions, retailers, cash management companies, technology providers and supplier - to discuss new strategies to design the cash cycle of the future.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s outgoing Director, Len Olijar called 2022 an exciting year on many fronts in his introduction to the agency’s Annual Report, citing progress in a number of areas, including the goal of upgrading its facilities.

Royal United Mint, the parent company of the Royal Dutch Mint and the Belgian Mauquoy Token Company, has acquired Osborne Coinage Co, based in Cincinnati, Ohio and the oldest private mint in the US.

Just under a year ago, Concha Jiménez retired from the Banco de España after more than 40 years with the central bank. Concha spoke to Currency News™ about her career, key changes at the Bank, the challenges of being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated environment, and what she plans to do next.

Both the Monnaie de Paris and the Mint of Finland have published their results for 2022. The French mint had a good year, the Finnish Mint did not.

De La Rue has recently provided a trading update, which indicates both a small (mid-single digit percentage) drop in profitability below market expectations (of £30-33 million) for 2022/23 but an uncertain outlook for 2023/24, with a potentially sharp reduction in profits. The share price fell 20% on the news.

Koenig & Bauer has reported that, based on its preliminary and as yet unaudited figures, group EBIT for 2022 has exceeded its own forecast, as well as market expectations. This was in spite of a challenging environment characterised by supply chain constraints and an associated increase in material and energy costs, and a loss in one of its main divisions – the Digital and Webfed segment.

Giesecke+Devrient has described 2022 as having a challenging business environment but one in which it has achieved strong results. The challenges have included rising energy, raw material and logistic costs, worldwide inflation, supply chain challenges, particularly for chips, and the impact of the war in Ukraine.

Bankgo Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has won the International Bank Note Society (IBNS) Banknote of the Year award for 2022 for the 1,000 piso note, breaking the Banco of Mexico’s winning streak after it scooped the award for both 2020 and 2021.

Whilst we have reported in the last two issues on broadly positive financial results for the cash management sector, the same cannot be said of the banknote production side of the industry, as De La Rue’s recent trading update shows.

In the start of a new series in Currency News, we will be providing a summary of each month of central bank annual reports, and in particular developments regarding cash – be it circulation, management or counterfeiting.

In the February issue of Currency News, we covered the acquisition by Oberthur Fiduciare (OF) of two thirds of the shares of the Swedish micro-optics firm RollingOptics, signalling its intention to focus on the growing area of micro-optics for security features. But even before this acquisition, OF had launched Pulsar™.

Crane NXT has announced the completion of its separation from Crane Co., the US-based industrial products and processes conglomerate, and its launch as an independent, publicly traded company.

The Central Bank of The Bahamas was awarded the 2023 Public First Award during the event’s Appreciation Dinner on 14 March, in a ceremony at the Xara Lodge, Rabat, Malta.

The prestigious Regional Banknote and ID Document of the Year Awards form part of the industry’s High Security Printing™ (HSP) EMEA conference. This year’s event was held in Abu Dhabi, with the awards presented at a special ceremony during the conference dinner on 8 March.

Nanotechnology has been a fertile breeding ground for authentication devices – as structures that can be controlled at the nanoscale exhibit responses to light that are distinctive and near impossible to replicate.

The Central Bank of Curaçao and St Maarten (CBCS) has said it expects that the introduction of the new Caribbean guilder will be completed in the second half of 2024. The new currency will replace the Netherlands Antillean guilder that has been in circulation since 1952.

As part of its Cash & Payments Sustainability Forum initiative, on 5 April Reconnaissance International will be joined in the first of a series of online seminars looking at end-of-life solutions for banknotes by FedCash® Services, Pakistan Security Printing Corporation and Giesecke+Devrient to talk about different ways of disposing of unfit cotton banknotes.

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), National Bank of Poland (NBP) and Note Printing Australia (NPA) were winners in three of the 25 Central Banking Awards 2023, which were announced recently.

Jamaica’s Finance and Public Service Minister, Dr Nigel Clarke, has said that the country’s new series of banknotes will be ready to be released to the general public by mid-June, with a publicity campaign to prepare the public ready to roll out imminently.

The International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) has announced the finalists for the 2023 Excellence in Currency Awards, which are in four categories.

Voith Group includes Voith Paper, which is well known in the banknote paper making world as the manufacturer of paper machines. In its 2022 Sustainability Report it gives details of its ‘Papermaking for Life’ programme designed to contribute to more sustainable paper production.

Oumolat Security Printing, which began operations in 2016, is not only the industry’s newest banknote printing company. Located in Abu Dhabi, it is also the first in the Middle East, taking advantage of the strategic location to offer banknote printing and services to the world.

Crane Currency has launched RAPID® Vision, which it describes as a new, innovative and intelligent micro-optic security thread for banknotes that brings high-contrast colour movement to a new level.

Komori Corporation is 100 years old this year and has recently published its annual integrated report for 2022 covering value creation, business strategies, sustainability and its corporate data.

The arrival of cryptocurrencies poses a fundamental challenge for cash cycle operators and banknote printers. For those firms that can successfully pivot, there are new market opportunities, including the challenge of how to integrate banknotes into a future digital payments economy.

In the January issue of Currency News™, we covered the closure of Cash Processing Solution (CPS), the second supplier of high-speed sorting systems after Giesecke+Devrient, and the creation of a series of new entities to continue with the profitable software and services side of the business.

Renowned counterfeit expert Kerre Corbin has set up Kerrency Ltd – a new independent consultancy for the banknote industry to provide guidance and training to central banks, police agencies, commercial banks and security industry companies on counterfeiting issues.

Last month, we covered the annual results of five of the major companies in the cash sector. This month is the turn of Prosegur, Spectra Systems and Orell Füssli, all of whom turned in a good performance for the year.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has halted its naira redesign programme, 10 days after the Supreme Court ruled that it hadn’t given sufficient notice to the public to exchange the old notes for new.

Hungary is the latest country to intervene in the cash cycle to ensure ongoing access to cash for its citizens in light of declining usage, with a new regulation from Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) governing minimum requirements for the number of ATMs operated by commercial banks.

Whether it was a full resumption of post-COVID international travel, the venue or the quality of the programme, or a combination of all three. But the High Security Printing™ (HSP) conference that took place at the W Hotel on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi was a sell-out.

Due to the pandemic, Currency Research combined the Banknote and Currency Conferences last year into one event, which took place in February in Washington DC. But now it is reverting to the traditional sequence of holding the events separately, starting with the Currency Conference, which takes place in Mexico City from 15-18 May.

META Materials Inc, a developer of high performance functional materials and nanocomposites which acquired security feature specialist Nanotech Security Corp in 2021, has announced its results for 2022, and raised concerns about its future viability unless additional funding can be secured.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is preparing to launch a new pilot project using QR code-based Coin Vending Machines (QCVM) in order to improve coin distribution in the country.

In the current time of great uncertainty, with multiple crises colliding, the supply of cash plays a central role in securing a functioning economic system. At the same time, the cash infrastructure is coming under pressure economically. Thus, a resilient cash cycle that adapts quickly to changing circumstances is becoming increasingly important for central banks.

Composting unfit cotton banknotes that have been shredded sits higher in the waste disposal hierarchy than sending it to landfill or burning it for energy recovery.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing has filed two RFIs to improve ‘counterfeit deterrent features on future’ US currency, specifying that the proposals should have deterrent features that are ‘novel and not otherwise in commercial use of the public domain.’

Annemieke de Gooijer from the Dutch National Bank (DNB) presented in November at the Cash & Payments Sustainability Forum™ in Edinburgh on the Dutch experience of including sustainability in its procurement processes.

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has unveiled a commemorative banknote to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

Whilst the Russian invasion of Ukraine exactly one year ago may have come as a surprise to many, it certainly didn’t to the Ukrainians themselves, who as early as Autumn 2021 were taking steps to minimise risks to the cash supply chain and decentralise the storage of cash stocks in anticipation of major disruption.

Advanced technologies continue to improve and become even more sophisticated. This is definitely so for the enduring R+D work focused on reducing the banknote counterfeit threat.

The Japanese government has appointed academic Kazuo Ueda as the next Bank of Japan Governor. He was a member of the BoJ’s policy board between 1998 and 2005, and before that an economics professor at the University of Tokyo. He will succeed Haruhiko Kuroda, whose second five-year term ends in April.

The Bank of Israel has announced that most new coins entering circulation with Hebrew mint year 5782 (2022 in the Gregorian calendar) will feature updated inscriptions. This encompasses four coin denominations – the NIS 10, NIS 5, NIS ½, and 10 agorot.

Currency Research will be holding the inaugural Silk Road Cash & Payments Conference in Almaty from 27-29 March.

Germany has been working over the past three years on a project known as BASIC, which aims to strengthen the resilience of the cash supply infrastructure in the event of an emergency or crisis.

Currency News spoke to Dr Georges Chalhoub, Director, Cash Operations at Banque du Liban to find out more about recent events in the country and how, in the midst of these, the Bank continues to keep innovation alive.

2022 saw the second lowest level of counterfeits as a proportion of total banknotes in circulation in the history of the euro (2021 being the lowest year).

Back by popular demand, the latest edition of The Directory of Currency & Technology Suppliers is now being compiled. This sought-after directory is an essential resource for central banks and issuers, printers and mints, and everyone in the cash cycle to identify suppliers and partners.

If we look at the frighteningly long list of disasters and crises in 2022 and the start of 2023, these events are random, often unexpected and usually large scale. What connects them all is the disruption of the ability to use digital payments. The knee jerk answer historically is to turn to cash.

Each February it is customary in Currency News™ to cover the annual results for 2022 for the leading companies in cash management, which is when most are published, with their success (or otherwise) providing a useful means of taking the pulse of our industry.

In October, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced that the three highest naira denominations (the N 200, 500 and 1,000) were being redesigned and reissued, with a six week period between issue and demonetisation (from 19 December to 31 January).

All arrangements are now in place for this year’s High Security Printing (HSP) EMEA, which takes place 7-9 March in Abu Dhabi. Attendance is at near capacity for the three day event, which includes two pre-conference seminars and two days of plenary sessions split into tracks covering currency and identification.

The online database that comes free with your subscription to Currency News™ (and its sister publications Coin & Mint News™ and Cash & Payment News™) has changed.

Narodowy Bank Polski (NBP) has released a new 20 zloty commemorative banknote dedicated to the famous Polish astronomer, economist and mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus, marking the 550th anniversary of his birth, and the 480th anniversary of his death.

Francois Charles Oberthur (Oberthur) has acquired a 65.5% stake in Rolling Optics, a Swedish developer of micro-optics technology, for a sum believed to be in the region of $15-20 million.

Brazil and Argentina, with the two largest economies countries in South America, wish to forge closer ties, including by developing a common currency, according to a joint statement by their presidents.

Koenig and Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBBNS) has signed a new partnership with the virtual ATM company SONECT as part of its strategy to help reinvent the way we move, access and manage cash in society.

The National Company for Advanced Industries and Integrated Strategic Printing Solutions (NASPS) unites the production of a wide range of ID and travel documents, excise stamps, holograms, security paper, payment cards, personalisation systems and the development of information systems and storage under one roof.

Croatia joined the Eurozone on 1 January 2023, bringing the number of European Union member states using the single European currency to 20.

At the end of last year, the Central Bank of Barbados issued a new banknote series, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its foundation, which is only the second major redesign in its half-century history of issuing the national currency (the 2013 series being the first).

January 2023 marks the 20th birthday of Currency News™, so we thought we would take a quick tour of the last two decades and provide a back-of-the-envelope analysis of the differences in the cash ecosystem, and issues and priorities, between then and now.

The COVID-delayed African Currency Forum finally took place two years and a few months later than originally planned in Luxor, Egypt from 15-18 January, attracting 305 delegates from 46 countries, including 25 central banks and state printworks from Africa itself.