Defining Minimum Visual Quality Standards: Malaysia’s Approach

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.

Bank Negara Malaysia has published a document that defines minimum visual quality standards in a straightforward and highly accessible form for both banknotes and coins. This is for ‘manual’ inspection, rather than machine use.

So often these documents are obscure, or complex, or both. This is an interesting approach which the ordinary shop keeper, exchange operator or citizen will easily understand since, for each type of degradation, the document provides images, and a very short description, that demonstrates what is unacceptable.

The temptation to say more and to add limits must have been big, but this approach is based on its simplicity. It would be interesting to know how others do this and what people think of this initiative.