In the July edition of Cash & Payment News™ we report a mixed picture about the health of cash.

The Banco Central de Reserva del Perú has unveiled the designs of its new banknote series with modern designs, new motifs and leading-edge security features.

The proposed relocation of the Banque de France’s banknote printing plant has been put back to 2026.

The window in the polymer banknote is proven as a strong security feature. This article lays out why. Windows are a simple way to authenticate a banknote and come with a clear public education message.

The banknote paper manufacturer Portals has signed a licence agreement with the Banque de France (BdF) for its multi-layer banknote technology, EverFit®.

SPARK® has proved to be one of the most successful and widely used anti-counterfeiting features for banknotes since its launch in 2006.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) was founded 30 June 1921, shortly after the end of World War I. Its primary objective was to restore and maintain order in the issue and circulation of domestic currency and restore the gold standard to the pre-World War I rate of exchange.

The Bank of Scotland, one of Scotland’s three note issuing banks, has released its new polymer £50 note, featuring Sir Walter Scott and the Falkirk Wheel, a rotating boat lift in central Scotland that connects two major canals.

The Republic of Honduras is located in Central America, bordering on many countries – to the west Guatemala, to the southwest El Salvador and to the southeast Nicaragua.

Spectra Systems Corporation launched its novel approach to cleaning soiled banknotes with the launch of its Aeris™ system in 2014 (See CN July 2014).

Michael Lambert has recently retired as Director of Banknotes for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, where he was in charge all aspects of the issuance of US currency.

Giesecke and Devrient (G+D) has invested in UK-based FNA (Financial Network Analytics), a deep technology firm specialising in advanced network analytics and simulations.

To ensure adequate supply of cash during the pandemic, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) outsourced 62.2% of banknotes from foreign printers in 2020, printing only 34.7% locally.

‘The past year has been an extraordinarily challenging one for the world as a whole, and The Royal Mint has been no exception’. These were the opening words in the Chairman’s Report for 2020/21.

The lockdowns and travel restrictions caused by the pandemic have had a great influence on retail shopping and payment habits. Besides the increase in online shopping, the growing use of contactless and mobile payments media have decreased the use of cash in transactions. Several recent payment studies confirm these developments.

The Bank of Albania has unveiled the next two denominations in its new series – the 1,000 and 10,000 lekës, which go into circulation at the end of June.

Gleitsmann Security Inks (GSI) has launched what it terms the ‘world’s first traffic light for banknotes’ in the form of mouve ^GSI, a unique security feature that will help safeguard cash and other security documents using luminescent colour effects.

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.

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.