There’s something about currency conferences held in Africa! They may not always run with clockwork precision, but they are among the most memorable and vibrant events on the conference calendar, creating an ambience that is uniquely conducive to relationship building and the sharing of stories.

China Banknote Designing and Engraving Co (CBDE) is a state-owned enterprise under China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation and a high-tech enterprise approved by the People’s Bank of China. Established in 2001, its core business has been the design and engraving of the national currency. At the same time, it has engaged in the research and development of plate inspection system technology, using technological upgrades to support high security printing.

The International Currency Association has a busy year ahead, with the upcoming Global Currency Forum taking place this April, a major study on the social value of cash in the making, an expansion of the Cash Matters social media campaign and, in the most recent development, the arrival of several new members from the minting community.

As we reported in the final issue of 2025, the currency industry appears to be booming. We posited on various reasons why – geopolitical uncertainty, rebuilding of strategic stocks, economic growth in the Global South in particular, shorter design cycles with more frequent upgrades and new issues, and the occasional large lumpiness of overspill orders.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has announced plans to modernise how money is circulated, accessed, and managed in the country with the largest overhaul of its cash system in decades. Through its Cash Smart Strategy (CSS), part of its Payments Ecosystem Modernisation (PEM) Programme, it intends to create a cash-management company, roll out white-label ATMs, and tighten oversight of cash distribution, aiming to make the system cheaper, safer, and more accessible.

Ethiopia is apparently done waiting on foreign firms to print its cash. At the Finance Forward 2026 conference in Addis Ababa, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed made it official: the country is moving to print its own currency. For decades, the Ethiopian birr has been produced overseas, but the government is now betting that ‘monetary sovereignty’ is worth the massive upfront investment.

We invariably cover the financial results of the public (listed) companies in our sector, certainly annually and sometimes their interim results too, as a means of taking the temperature of the industry. To supplement this is Industry Watch, now published annually rather than quarterly, which specifically looks at their share prices over the period of the preceding year.

The High Security Printing (HSP) EMEA conference, organised by Reconnaissance (publishers of Currency News™) takes place in Rabat, Morocco from 9-11 February.

On 1 January 2026, the euro replaced the Bulgarian lev, making Bulgaria the 21st of European Union’s 27 member states to join the eurozone, following Croatia’s entry in 2023. This means 358 million Europeans now use the euro as their currency.

Celebrating the 35th Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which took place December to January in Rabat and was eventually won by Senegal, Morocco’s Bank Al-Maghrib has issued a commemorative 250 dirham silver coin and a commemorative 100 dirham banknote.

The CB+DC Conference, which focuses on digital currencies and payments, will hold two events in 2026, one in Kuala Lumpur hosted at Sasana Kijang, the Bank Negara Malaysia’s training facility, 12–14 May and one in Amsterdam 27–29 October. Registration is now open.

DataVault tells us that the use of patches on banknotes is increasing, albeit from a low base. In 1999 two issuers had applied a patch to their currency, as of late 2025 the number was 32, just under 20%. The adoption rate is slow but steady. The uptake appears to have no regional or size bias. From Jersey through to Nigeria.

Banknote security specialist Hueck Folien has acquired California-based WaveFront Technology LLC, transforming the Austrian firm into a ‘full-liner’ with end-to-end control over the security feature lifecycle. By integrating WaveFront’s 30-year expertise in micro and nanostructures, Hueck Folien says that it secures strategic independence and the ability to originate custom optical designs in-house. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

The Indian government has approved a ₹18 billion (£144 million) proposal to establish a new Cylindrical Mould Watermark Banknote (CWBN) production line. This line will have an annual capacity of 6,000 tonnes of high security paper for banknotes, non-judicial stamp paper, and passports.

Currency Research, in collaboration with currency practitioners from African central banks, has launched a new international research initiative to examine global cash usage trends and the future role of physical currency in a rapidly evolving payments landscape.

Currency Publications now offers two data sources on banknotes and coins – one included in your subscription, and the other for an additional subscription. One is a reference tool, and the other a research tool, and they fulfil different, but complementary functions.

Challenging long established companies in a deeply conservative market is a daunting prospect, and yet that is what Q&T Hi-Tech Polymer (Q&T) has done.

Some big changes in the Indian ATM market are planned over the next six months with 17,350 new machines, 75% of which will be capable of cash recycling.

The readers of this article are likely to agree that cash, whether banknotes or coins, is a wonderful thing. Although the siren call of convenience is luring people to digital alternatives, cash remains part of the fabric of our societal DNA.

Syria has issued a new currency, removing portraits of the Assad family and redenominating to remove two zeroes.