Resilience at the Heart of Banknote 2026

The Banknote Conference, held in Washington DC in May, involved 432 delegates from 164 organisations across 68 countries, including representatives from 88 central banks and printworks. Organised by Currency Research and bringing together central bankers, banknote designers, security experts, printers, substrate manufacturers and cash cycle specialists, the event provided a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities facing the global cash community.

Two pre-conference workshops examined key developments in physical currency.

One provided context for the upcoming Coin Conference (which takes place 28-30 September in Budapest), exploring trends in circulating coins and banknotes, addressing seigniorage, dual-currency redesign, and forecasting demand in evolving payment environments.

The other – run by the International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA) – focused on the continued development of optically variable devices (OVDs), highlighting their role in maintaining public trust and combating increasingly sophisticated threats, including AI-assisted counterfeiting.