New Zealand Marks 25 Years of Polymer Banknotes

New Zealand adopted polymer banknotes in 1999. At the time, Brian Lang was Head of Currency at the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ). To mark the 25th anniversary of polymerisation, we sat down with Brian to discuss the rationale behind the transition and assess its results.

Q: Why did New Zealand adopt polymer banknotes?

A: There were several reasons. Australia had already issued a polymer series and evidence from there was showing polymer banknotes were stronger, cleaner, and more cost effective. Critically, they were also far more secure against counterfeits.

Australia had originally developed polymer banknotes in response to the significant counterfeit risk that accompanied

the proliferation of advanced imaging and printing technologies. While New Zealand didn’t have a major problem with counterfeit banknotes by international standards, forgeries were still a nuisance and added cost to management of the cash cycle.

At the RBNZ, we were in the process of strategically reviewing all operations, and the evidence appeared to show polymer offered a wide range of benefits with no major drawbacks.