In the absence in 2021 of the HSP Awards, which are normally held three times a year to coincide with the three regional conferences, HSP organiser Reconnaissance International held a series of virtual awards instead.

Bert van Ravenswaaij, the Royal Dutch Mint’s CFO, has been appointed Mint Master, and will take up the position at the beginning of January. He has been at the Royal Dutch Mint since 2017 and is responsible, among other things, for all issues for the collector's market, including commemorative coins and medals.

As part of our regular update on technologies and programmes for sustainability in the cash cycle, we report this month on the news that Banco de Cabo Verde has invested in an HKU 4510 from Swiss company Hunkeler Systeme for the secure, clean and energy efficient disposal of banknotes.

Many technologies and features with their roots in commercial printing have made, and continue to make, a substantial contribution to secure document production. However, these technologies have for the most part been concerned with producing visual colours, perceived by the unaided eye as conventional colour printing.

The emphasis on the recent round of IACA’s Excellence in Currency Awards, which were presented in October, was on innovations in response to the pandemic that will have lasting value. One such innovation was from KURZ in the form of its ‘Digital Design and Origination Approval Process’.

The Bank of Canada (BOC) has a Currency Inventory Management Strategy (IMS) based on its high-speed sorters that capture the image of every banknote, including the serial number, along with the date the banknote was created, shipped from the central bank’s distribution sites and returned to them.

In the November issue of Currency News™, we covered initiatives in Australia and the Netherlands to assess the growing trend to digital payments and what these countries are doing, or beginning to think about doing, to ensure ongoing access to cash in a less-cash world.

The International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) has announced the finalists in the 16th round of its Excellence in Currency Awards.

CINEMA™ is a ground-breaking security feature for banknotes, launched in 2020 by CCL Secure. The feature uses advanced micro-optics to create 3D and novel effects such as movement, depth, float, flip effects, and magnification – all in normal lighting, without the need for UV or other special lighting techniques.

A review of this year's headlines.

On 21 December, the Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) launched a significantly upgraded series of banknotes, with dynamic and innovative security threads and advanced security print features.

The Bank of Israel (BOI) held a special ceremony attended by the country’s president to launch a new NIS 5 coin in appreciation of the Israeli health and medical system for their contribution and struggle for the lives and health of Israel’s citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More details have emerged about the polymer trial in the Philippines. Delivery of the first batch will be next April. 500 million pieces of 1,000 piso polymer banknotes will be rolled out by the middle of 2022, and the pilot will last for three years.

HM Government of Gibraltar has issued a new £5 note, replacing the previous, larger version. The new £5 was reduced in size to match the UK polymer £5 (albeit it remains on paper) and the colour changed to a vivid green.

While cash transactions in Japan have been declining for some time, the reduction in opportunities to pay in cash and the increased use of ‘stay at home consumption’ during the pandemic has accelerated this decline. At the same time the ratio of banknotes to GDP has risen very significantly.

2021 ended much as it began – disruptions, restrictions, new lockdowns, a virus on the march. However, the two trends where momentum is gathering and real change is beginning to happen are in access to cash and the green revolution.

The Peoples Bank of China has issued a set of 20 yuan commemorative banknotes for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games. The set, which includes a polymer note and a paper note, have been produced by China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation.

After nearly 40 years at Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions, its Technical Director Johannes Schaede is retiring. Or, rather, semi-retiring – since from January 2022 he will be taking up a new supervisory position with Orell Füssli AG.

Euro banknotes are facing a redesign for the first time since their launch two decades ago, with a plan to make the currency ‘more relatable to Europeans of all ages and backgrounds’.

While the companies we feature in Industry Watch are being directly affected by COVID-19 trends and issues, they are also subject to market trends. COVID-19 has disrupted global economic stability – raw materials, energy and labour are all in short supply, and inflation is on the rise.