The Central Bank of Nigeria has halted its naira redesign programme, 10 days after the Supreme Court ruled that it hadn’t given sufficient notice to the public to exchange the old notes for new.

Hungary is the latest country to intervene in the cash cycle to ensure ongoing access to cash for its citizens in light of declining usage, with a new regulation from Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) governing minimum requirements for the number of ATMs operated by commercial banks.

Whether it was a full resumption of post-COVID international travel, the venue or the quality of the programme, or a combination of all three. But the High Security Printing™ (HSP) conference that took place at the W Hotel on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi was a sell-out.

Last month, we covered the annual results of five of the major companies in the cash sector. This month is the turn of Prosegur, Spectra Systems and Orell Füssli, all of whom turned in a good performance for the year.

Jamaica’s Finance and Public Service Minister, Dr Nigel Clarke, has said that the country’s new series of banknotes will be ready to be released to the general public by mid-June, with a publicity campaign to prepare the public ready to roll out imminently.

The arrival of cryptocurrencies poses a fundamental challenge for cash cycle operators and banknote printers. For those firms that can successfully pivot, there are new market opportunities, including the challenge of how to integrate banknotes into a future digital payments economy.

Due to the pandemic, Currency Research combined the Banknote and Currency Conferences last year into one event, which took place in February in Washington DC. But now it is reverting to the traditional sequence of holding the events separately, starting with the Currency Conference, which takes place in Mexico City from 15-18 May.

META Materials Inc, a developer of high performance functional materials and nanocomposites which acquired security feature specialist Nanotech Security Corp in 2021, has announced its results for 2022, and raised concerns about its future viability unless additional funding can be secured.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is preparing to launch a new pilot project using QR code-based Coin Vending Machines (QCVM) in order to improve coin distribution in the country.

In the current time of great uncertainty, with multiple crises colliding, the supply of cash plays a central role in securing a functioning economic system. At the same time, the cash infrastructure is coming under pressure economically. Thus, a resilient cash cycle that adapts quickly to changing circumstances is becoming increasingly important for central banks.

Oumolat Security Printing, which began operations in 2016, is not only the industry’s newest banknote printing company. Located in Abu Dhabi, it is also the first in the Middle East, taking advantage of the strategic location to offer banknote printing and services to the world.

In the January issue of Currency News™, we covered the closure of Cash Processing Solution (CPS), the second supplier of high-speed sorting systems after Giesecke+Devrient, and the creation of a series of new entities to continue with the profitable software and services side of the business.

Crane Currency has launched RAPID® Vision, which it describes as a new, innovative and intelligent micro-optic security thread for banknotes that brings high-contrast colour movement to a new level.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing has filed two RFIs to improve ‘counterfeit deterrent features on future’ US currency, specifying that the proposals should have deterrent features that are ‘novel and not otherwise in commercial use of the public domain.’

Composting unfit cotton banknotes that have been shredded sits higher in the waste disposal hierarchy than sending it to landfill or burning it for energy recovery.

Currency News spoke to Dr Georges Chalhoub, Director, Cash Operations at Banque du Liban to find out more about recent events in the country and how, in the midst of these, the Bank continues to keep innovation alive.

The Japanese government has appointed academic Kazuo Ueda as the next Bank of Japan Governor. He was a member of the BoJ’s policy board between 1998 and 2005, and before that an economics professor at the University of Tokyo. He will succeed Haruhiko Kuroda, whose second five-year term ends in April.

Back by popular demand, the latest edition of The Directory of Currency & Technology Suppliers is now being compiled. This sought-after directory is an essential resource for central banks and issuers, printers and mints, and everyone in the cash cycle to identify suppliers and partners.

Francois Charles Oberthur (Oberthur) has acquired a 65.5% stake in Rolling Optics, a Swedish developer of micro-optics technology, for a sum believed to be in the region of $15-20 million.

In October, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced that the three highest naira denominations (the N 200, 500 and 1,000) were being redesigned and reissued, with a six week period between issue and demonetisation (from 19 December to 31 January).