To mark the 50th anniversary of the creation in June 1973 of the ouguiya (MRU) as the national currency of the West African state of Mauritania, the Banque Centrale de Mauritanie is issuing a commemorative MRU 50 banknote on not one but three different substrates.

In its annual report for 2022-23, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has provided details of the financial performance of its minting and banknote printing subsidiaries South African Mint (SAM) and South African Bank Note (SABN).

The prestigious Regional Banknote and ID Document of the Year Awards form part of the industry’s annual High Security Printing™ (HSP) Latin America conference.

This month I would like to discuss the proliferation of novelty notes, which are purchased online and used in exchange for goods and services.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has issued a new 20 pound (LE) note on polymer, following the issue of a polymer LE10 last year.

SUSI Optics® Jazz™, the latest addition to the SUSI Optics® family of optically variable features for banknotes, was launched at the Currency Conference in May, with a stunning specimen note produced to demonstrate the spectrum of opportunities it offers.

Nassau, the Bahamas was the spectacular setting for the 10th HSP (High Security Printing) Latin America conference, which welcomed 250 delegates from 118 organisations and 36 countries, over half from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, has published a proposal on the legal tender status of euro banknotes and coins. The proposal is part of the Single Currency legislative package which also includes a legal text on a digital euro.

At the Currency Conference in May, Dieter Sauter, Vice President & General Manager Value Printing for Bundesdruckerei, unveiled the concept behind the ‘Dark Banknote Series‘, and the first note in this series (ExNihilo), which is the result of the SIRALab initiative.

Design testing is not easy but is good practice. Ernesto Gonzalez Candela of Mexican firm UnderCurrency, which offers consulting services and products to assess and improve the performance of banknotes and coins, presented a new tool at the Optical and Digital Document Security conference in April to help central banks optimise their banknote designs and have confidence that they will perform in circulation.

SICPA has formally inaugurated the unlimitrust campus, the world’s first centre of excellence dedicated to the Economy of Trust which is assembling innovation players into one single community.

NCR Corporation is the market leader in self-service banking and payment solutions, with a turnover of $7.83 billion in 2022, more than double that of its nearest rival, Diebold Nixdorf (see below).

The Bank of Jamaica’s new banknote series has now gone into circulation, marking a complete transition to polymer for the country’s currency.

Nominations are now open for the MDC’s prestigious Coin Awards. Last held in 2018, the awards recognise industry achievements in the design, production and packaging of coins, as well as, for the first time, sustainability in minting.

De la Rue has announced its results for the financial year ending March 2023. These were eagerly awaited following a trading update issued by the company April (see CN April 2023).

The Currency Conference took part in Mexico City in May 2023, overlapping with the Digital Currency Conference. This report is the first of two summaries of the conference.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has finally approved the merger of Australia’s two largest cash in transit companies – Linfox Armaguard and Prosegur Australia. The merger will create a single cash logistics provider, operating under the Armaguard name, with an estimated market share of more than 90%.

‘Make in India’, the long-running government-sponsored initiative to ‘on-shore’ production and reduce imports, is now resulting in Indian entities becoming global providers.

The independent think tank CashEssentials has launched two new initiatives – the Cash Academic Network and the Cash Associations’ Forum – both aimed at building bridges within different groups of the cash community.

Banknote users see a holistic banknote when they transact but our industry doesn’t always think holistically. A significant proportion of our time is focussed on individual components and, whilst these are incredibly important, we risk overlooking the essential role of integration in unlocking the next wave of banknote innovation.