All arrangements are now in place for this year’s High Security Printing (HSP) Latin America, which returns to Santiago, Chile – taking place from 3-5 June. The last time the event was held in Santiago was 2014.

Highlights of the second Cash Sustainability Forum (CSF), which takes place 24-26 June in Frankfurt, are now available.

Possession of counterfeit versus intent to defraud. What’s the difference?

Last month, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System published an International Finance Discussion Paper on the demand for US banknotes at home and abroad. It was authored by Ruth Judson, a staff economist.

The final details for the upcoming Banknote Conference, taking place 13-16 May, have come together.

Central Banking Publications runs an award scheme each year, with 18 different categories, two of which relate specifically to currency.

The National Bank of Poland (NBP) will issue a commemorative 20 zloty banknote in July to mark the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw uprising, a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate the city from German occupation.

In recent years Vietnam has been a go-to country for many of the world players in the technology, automotive, and fashion industries. It is now stepping into a new field – polymer banknote substrates and security features.

Spectra Systems has developed its own print-ready machine- readable banknote polymer substrate, FUSION™, working exclusively with Toray Plastics America.

The intensive focus on sustainability and greener solutions has been developing rapidly in the banknote industry. In the July 2023 edition of Currency News™, G+D described its rationale for sustainable products, and highlighted, firstly, the introduction of the Green Banknote initiative in 2022 and, subsequently, the introduction of Green Longlife™ in 2023.

As an anti-forgery expert with the Egyptian Ministry of Justice, I have spent decades investigating the strength and security of various banknote substrates. My work has involved analysis of the technical specifications of banknotes, through extensive mechanical and chemical testing, as well as an assessment of data published by central banks. I’d like to share my findings here.

This year the International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) celebrates its 20th anniversary. It was the first industry-wide association and remains the only one that encompasses all stakeholders in the cash cycle on a global basis.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has been working to reduce the environmental impact of euro banknotes and the Eurosystem cash cycle since the introduction of the euro in 2002. Although it has made progress, it has further goals to reduce the environmental footprint of current and future euro banknotes.

China Banknote Printing & Minting (CBPM) has developed and is now using a new integrated processing and packaging production line for post-press operations.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has unveiled a new family of coins and banknotes denominated in Zimbabwe gold (expressed as ZiG), which replaces the preceding dollar notes at a rate of 1:2,498.7242.

The Central Bank of Suriname has introduced two new high denomination banknotes; the 200 and 500 Suriname dollars, showcasing advanced security and sustainable substrates.

Florida, Wisconsin and Vermont are the latest states to consider introducing legislation to force cash acceptance.

The International Hologram Manufacturers Association has recently expanded the Hologram Image Register to incorporate all optically variable security images. The Security Image Register (SIR) is the only database of its kind for the security community, safeguarding copyright and helping deter attempts to copy security images, inadvertently or otherwise.

Crane NXT, whose subsidiaries include Crane Currency, Crane Authentication and Crane Payment Innovations, has announced it has signed a definitive agreement with Investcorp Technology Partners to acquire the optical technologies and brand protection specialist OpSec Security for $270 million in cash, subject to customary adjustments.

Many counterfeiters use a common method of counterfeiting called ‘bleaching’ to create their fakes. This technique is frequently observed in countries that have the same size banknotes across all denominations, such as the US dollar.