News in Brief
Israel Honours Health Workers with Coin
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.
The design of the front of the coin was selected as part of a competition featuring 15 graphic designers from Israel, from which BOI governor, Prof Amir Yaron, picked the winning design from three proposals chosen by the Public Committee for the Planning of Banknotes, Coins and Commemorative Coins. Following the launch, more than 2 million of the coins will enter circulation.
Commenting on the new coins, Prof Yaron said: ‘I am pleased at the opportunity that I have today to announce the issuance to the public of a special issue NIS 5 coin to commemorate and honour the contribution of the medical teams to the struggle against the pandemic, and to commemorate such a historic event on a coin, the legal tender of the state.’
Prosegur Plants its 1st Forest
As part of its 'Volunteering for the Climate' initiative, cash services company Prosegur has started planting hundreds of trees in a moor of Perales del Alfambra in Teruel, one of the areas most affected by deforestation in Spain.
The first plantation has been carried out with the collaboration of company employees. The 'Prosegur Forest', as this project has been called, will give rise to a forest mass whose evolution can be consulted online through an agreement with the 'startup' ReTree.
Due to the technology developed by ReTree, which uses AI-trained algorithms, the company's employees will be able to consult the impact of the forest on the environment on the network and in real time, such as, for example, the amount of carbon dioxide accumulated.
Prosegur is the first security company in the world to subscribe to the Climate Pledge initiative, and has a goal of being carbon neutral by 2040. According to the company, the Prosegur Forest project is not only committed to people and the environment, but also to the most cutting-edge technology together with ReTree, which has dated the forest, making its evolution ‘available online and, in time, real’.
Fogra Questions Security of Windows on Their Own
The Munich-based not-for-profit scientific research institute Fogra has questioned the assumption that windows in banknotes are a security feature on their own, in a recent White Paper entitled ‘Security Elements – Security Just by a Window Feature?’.
According to Fogra, the presence of a clear window is often requested in tenders for security documents, and it is assumed that such a window contributes to a high level of uniqueness and counterfeit protection. In Fogra’s view, however, a clear window cannot be considered as a main security feature of banknotes, or ID documents, and must be supplemented by further multi-layer security features.
It tested a wide range of printing systems and concluded that up to 1,000 system combinations – including printers for home and office, as well as semi-professional, use – can produce the see-through effects generated in banknote substrate production. Measurements and visual inspections were carried out with regard to colour tone, opacity and sharpness of detail and, the white paper states, it could be shown that many available digital print combinations comply with the tolerance ranges specified by typical window techniques.
It is therefore, Fogra says, ‘relatively easy to produce clear windows with materials and production technologies that are freely and cheaply available internationally’. Hence the need for windows to be supplemented with multi-layer security features.
Koenig & Bauer’s New Exceeding Print Goals
Koenig & Bauer – parent company of Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions – has announced a pooling of corporate goals in its new ‘Exceeding Print’ strategy.
The emphasis of the strategy is on sustainability, modularity, digitalisation. As part of this, the company is setting itself ambitious sustainability goals and aims to further increase its efforts to deliver on its ecological, social and community responsibilities.
These include a target of reducing CO2 emissions in its production plants by 75% and to be completely carbon-neutral from 2030. It is also focusing on solutions for its customers to reduce energy consumption, cut waste, and decrease ink and coating consumption, helping them to cut their CO2 emissions.
Brazilian Printworks Privatisation Off the Table
Long-time controversial proposals to private Casa da Moeda do Brasil (CMB), Brazil’s printworks and mint, are finally off the table. Earlier this month, President Jair Bolsonaro issued a decree welcoming a recommendation of the Council of the Investment Partnership Program to exclude CMB from the National Privatization Program (PND).
The Brazilian government embarked on a privatisation drive back in 2017, with plans to sell off state assets to raise up to R$44 billion in revenues and boost infrastructure investment. The assets included CMB, the country’s oldest state-owned company which, as well as Brazilian banknotes and coins, also produces medals, passports, tokens and tax stamps, and is seen by many as a symbol of the country’s sovereignty. President Bolsonaro accelerated the programme on taking office, signing a decree authorising the privatisation of CMB in 2019.
Attempts since then to alter the CMB’s exclusivity in the manufacture of state security documents have come to nought and, according to the Ministry of Economy, as long as this exclusivity is maintained, it would be difficult to effect partnerships with the private sector.
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