Cash & Payment News™ (CPN) is the sister publication to Currency News™. It was first published in July 2018 as the successor to Payment News Quarterly and, while Currency News focuses on the product that is ‘cash’, CPN has concentrated on the use of cash once issued.

This is the first in a series of articles that explores the cultural aspect of money that goes beyond its function as a means of payment or store of value. Many societies have a long-standing tradition of gifting money (banknotes and coins) to mark auspicious occasions – births and birthdays, weddings and other special events, where the value of the gift is as much social as it is financial.

The start of 2024 has been marked by a series of acquisitions in the minting community.

How many counterfeit banknotes are in circulation? I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked this question. So, let’s look at how counterfeit banknotes are found and reported.

COP 28 in December last year provided evidence that the climate is changing, and we are struggling to do what is needed to mitigate or adapt to the change. Given this is the only planet we have, and we are all on this place together, sustainability is relevant to us as individuals and to our work.

Currency News™ has officially ‘come of age’! That is, if reaching its 21st birthday counts as the coming of age – which in many societies it does.

As has been customary at the start of the year in the past, we have invited stakeholders and other participants in the cash community to give their views on key trends and likely developments for the coming year.

The next HSP EMEA 2023 event will be held in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, on 4-6 March 2024 and the organisers are expecting a sell-out event, with key decision makers from central banks, suppliers and printers coming together to discuss and learn about a range of topics from cash usage and trends in the region, sustainability and resilience in print to physical and digital technologies, security features and design.

The People’s Bank of China (PBC) has issued a 20 yuan commemorative legal tender banknote to celebrate 2024’s Lunar Year of the Long (Chinese Dragon), which begins on 10 February.

Under the new leadership of Vijay Ranjan Singh, who was appointed its Managing Director last year, SPMCIL recently released its 2022/23 Annual Report, registering a growth of 20.35% in revenue to Rs 49.18 billion.

The programme for the third Optical and Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference – which takes place from 8-10 April 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal – is now available.

This month’s coverage of cash information in central bank annual reports contains news from the central banks of Rwanda and Uganda.

Jasmina Selimović has been appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH). She replaces Senad Softić and is the first women to hold the position.

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.

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.

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’.

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.

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.

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.