The introduction of the new £50 was undertaken by the Bank of England Governor, Andrew Bailey, at a special ceremony at Bletchley Park, once the top-secret home of the World War Two codebreakers and where Alan Turing, the subject of the note, carried out his most famous work breaking the Enigma code.

Cash in the UK is in an interesting place at the moment. The cash paradox – higher demand, lower use – is very much in evidence, as are growing concerns about the future of cash allied to branch and ATM closures, concerted moves from the government downwards to encourage people to pay digitally, and what the cash infrastructure could and should look like in the future.

The Mexican President has nominated his finance minister and economist Arturo Herrera Gutiérrez as the next Governor of the Bank of Mexico, to replace the incumbent, Alejandro Díaz de León, whose mandate is not being renewed.

The week before the issue of the new £50, the Bank of England published its annual report for 2020/21, which showed an increase in notes in circulation of £10.3 billion (14%). It credited this increase to the launch of the new polymer £20 note in February 2020 and the pandemic. These figures are quite a contrast to the Reserve Bank of India’s annual report, also issued recently, which saw a 7.2% increase.

This is now the sixth Industry Watch, covering 18 months, where COVID-19 has been the main factor influencing market values and trends, both directly and indirectly.

COVID has given companies the opportunity to reflect and look at sustainability and the environment with more pressing urgency. There have been webinars and virtual conferences where this topic has been headlining, with paper manufacturers in particular demonstrating their activities to reduce carbon footprints and ensure the future and life cycle of banknotes is protected.

After several months of a COVID-enforced digital only publication of Currency News™, we are happy to announce the resumption of the hard-copy distribution of the newsletter from July. Thank you for your patience during the disruption and we ask a little more forbearance as delivery services attempt to return to something like their pre-COVID levels.

Glory’s annual results, announced last month, showed a 3% drop in sales to ¥217 billion, and a 20% drop in operating income to ¥14 billion.

This month’s Cash & Payment News™ focuses on the environment, research on cash usage, payment challenges and token-based Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

It is a challenge to introduce minimum quality standards for banknote fitness. There are a number of good examples of how to manage machines that handle banknotes, whether in a cash centre or elsewhere, the European Central Bank being an example. But reaching those who handle and work with cash without the benefit of machines is more difficult.

Goznak has acquired Bank Innovation Systems (BIS), the Russian supplier of banknote inspection and processing equipment, in a deal signed at the start of June.

Public support for the euro has reached an all-time high, according to the European Commission's latest Eurobarometer survey.

The Bundesbank reported in August 2020 a marked increase in counterfeits where no attempt had been made to mimic the security features. There is a high level of trust in the authenticity of euro banknotes.

I have had the dubious pleasure of having been part of G+D’s global Corona crisis team for the past 15 months, during which time I have had the chance to gain live insight into what has been happening with the more than 11,500 people at the more than 50 sites of our company group worldwide and at our customer sites in almost all countries on this planet during the crisis.

The ATM Security Association (ASA) has launched a new worldwide Crisis and Crime Management Intelligence System (CCMIS).

Counterfeiting is a sensitive subject. Without counterfeiters most of us would not have a job, but central banks have a difficult line to walk. They need the public to check their banknotes, but equally they need the public to trust and have confidence in their currency.

The think-tank CashEssentials in collaboration with Wipplay, a community platform dedicated to photography, is back this year for its fourth photo contest, this time inviting participants to focus on imaging the future through the medium of currency.

The Central Bank of Honduras has announced that a new 200 lempira note will be issued in September. Notes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 lempiras currently circulate in Honduras. The last note to be introduced – the 500 – was in 1997.

Currency Research has announced a webinar focusing on ‘Currency Use and Banknote Technology’, in support of the combined Banknote & Currency Conference.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has published its 2020/21 Annual Report which saw a small rise in demand for banknotes and the RBI continuing with its programme of developing how it does its business.