Papua New Guinea Marks 35-Year Polymer Milestone

35 years ago, in 1991, Papua New Guinea (PNG) introduced its first polymer banknote – the 2 kina. This made it the first country after Australia to adopt the then new technology, and helped begin a period of change in currency across the Pacific region.

The Bank of Papua New Guinea’s ongoing commitment to polymer currency reflects the strong relationship it maintains with Note Printing Australia (NPA) and CCL Secure. NPA prints the full family of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 banknotes on GUARDIAN™ polymer substrate, all of which incorporate a range of innovative security features, along with designs highlighting the country’s national wildlife and cultural heritage.

Most recently, the Bank has issued a new 100 kina on GUARDIAN (see CN February 2026).

Durability through adversity

As the 35-year milestone suggests, polymer has been highly successful for PNG, which had to consider several issues common to remote or tropical regions when specifying a substrate.