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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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 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.

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.

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.