Five Winners in Expanded Range of Central Banking Awards

The National Bank of Ukraine, the ECB and Federal Reserve, Crane Currency and CCL Secure are among the winners in the Central Banking Awards 2021, presented annually by the Central Banking Journal and which this year have nearly doubled in number to 29.

The awards are targeted at the global community of central bankers and the ecosystem of specialised suppliers, and are made to recognise excellence in serving the central banking community and contribution to public service. They are judged by a committee comprising the editorial team from the Journal, as well as former central bankers from around the world.

Ukraine’s denomination upgrade

The winner of the Currency Manager of the Year award was the National Bank of Ukraine, for the decisive steps taken to upgrade its series of banknotes.

‘Over the last few years, the National Bank of Ukraine has put a lot of effort into the large-scale optimisation of Ukrainian currency notes and coins,’ said Viktor Zaivenko, Director of the Cash Circulation Department. ‘Having researched the best global practices, we started to implement gradual and systemic changes aimed at improvement of the cash cycle.’ The upgrade, which took place between 2018 and 2020, has resulted in the reduction of the number of denominations from 16 to 12, and the series now comprises six notes and six coins. A new high denomination 1,000 hryvnia was introduced, the four lowest denomination banknotes were converted to coins, and the four lowest value coins were dropped. The measures will save the Bank $35 million over the next 20 years in production and distribution costs.

(®Yelyzaveta Serhiienko/NBU).

ECB and Fed score hit with CDI2

There were two central bank winners, meanwhile, of the Currency Initiative award – the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve, for their CDI2 project.

The ECB and the Fed have been working on a set of common standards for banknote sorting machines since early 2015, together with major equipment manufacturers. The aim of CDI2 (2nd generation Common Detector Interface) is to enable central banks to instal fitness sensors from a third party into a sorting machine, meaning manufacturers will not have to create multiple versions of sensors every time a central bank upgrades its banknotes with new machine-readable features.

According to Mark Gould, the Fed’s First Chief Payments Executive, ‘some people might not think of pioneering technology when you talk about cash, but there is a tremendous amount of innovation happening throughout the supply chain.’ 

Crane keeps the cash flowing

The Currency Services Provider award went to Crane Currency for its work in handling changing banknote demand patterns in the wake of COVID-19, and for continuing at the same time to innovate with the launch of new micro-optic security features.

According to Central Banking, Crane has provided clear communication as well as support to countries where cash demand increased significantly over the past year. Contingency plans saw it increasing safety stocks of critical supplies, to ensure the company was not only able to meet existing commitments, but also respond to new orders from central banks needing additional stocks of cash.

Changes were also made within the company’s business operations to reduce the chance of the virus being spread within the workplace, including remote working for non-production staff, separation of shifts and isolation of key processes, as well as additional cross-training of skills to improve resilience and intensive cleaning regimes. Not a single day was lost in production at any of its sites.

‘The past year has affected central banks and the whole currency industry, and we are very happy to receive this award. Our aim has been to meet not only existing commitments but also to respond to new orders from central banks needing new stocks of cash,’ said Sam Keayes, President of Crane Currency.

CCL Secure sets target for 100% recycling

Last but by no means least, CCL Secure won the Currency Services Initiative award for its polymer recycling programme.

(© CCL Secure).

The company has made a concerted effort over the past few years to not only reduce its environmental impact but also assist central bank clients in recycling their banknotes. This has included the new recycling plant in Mexico, which handles banknotes from across Latin America.

According to CCL Secure, globally more than 90% of Guardian polymer banknotes issued into circulation are now recycled, and they would like to make it 100%.

As well as its recycling initiative, CCL Secure has also invested in reducing the environmental impact of its production processes. These include the capture of solvents for use in power generation, a 50% reduction in the use of gas at its premises in Wigton in the UK, and a fourfold improvement in air quality both inside and outside the plant.

‘For us, our commitment to sustainability runs through the entire company and will continue to be a major focus, covering our entire supply chain and production process’, said Neil Sanders, Vice President and Managing Director of CCL Secure.

‘Whether it’s enabling our customers to recycle or enhancing our own processes, as a responsible supplier and employer, our duty is to make sure that what we do minimises our impact on our shared environment. We’re committed to reducing the impact wherever we operate, whether that’s in England, Australia or Mexico’.

The winners will be presented with their awards at a virtual ceremony taking place 14-18 June 2021.