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Astrid Mitchell

1 June 2026

11 min read

Royal Dutch Kusters Engineering – Where Banknote Destruction Meets Sustainability

One of the main most visual environmental impacts of banknotes is not in their production but their destruction – with incineration and landfill still being all-too-frequent methods of removal. In last month’s Currency News™, we reported on the results of the 2025 Banknote Recycling Study, the latest biennial survey from Royal Dutch Kusters Engineering (Kusters), which explored how central banks are handling the disposal of unfit notes in particular, and progress made (or not) since the previous survey of 2023.

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James Shepherd-Barron

27 April 2026

6 min read

Money Talks: How Banknotes Can Enhance National Health Security

As part of his satirical take on wealth and power, Mark Twain reputedly coined the idiom, ‘Money Talks’. But, he asked, if it does, do we know what it’s saying?’ To which I would add, ‘… and in what language?’

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Astrid Mitchell

23 April 2026

5 min read

DataVault 2.0 - Digging for Data… Quicker, Smarter, Deeper

Reconnaissance International, co-publishers of Currency News, have launched DataVault 2.0, which has been comprehensively overhauled with a wealth of new information and an intuitive interface, and is now offered with a range of flexible subscription options to suit all budgets and research needs.

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Antti Heinonen

1 April 2026

9 min read

Developments in the Number of Banknotes in Circulation and Currency Denomination Structures

This article provides further light on a topic addressed in Currency News™ last May, namely the development of the number of banknotes in circulation. The estimate then was like a first trial and resulted globally in 921 billion banknotes. It was based on data available at the time consisting mostly of end-2023 or 2024 figures.

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Astrid Mitchell

27 March 2026

2 min read

DataVault Unlocked – Notes and Coins of 2025

Formerly known as Money Matters, this article is a continuation of the periodic series utilising information drawn from DataVault, the powerful online database which enables users to search, sort and aggregate data on all of the world’s banknotes and circulating coins.

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Astrid Mitchell

4 March 2026

5 min read

Safeguarding Cash

On 8 March Switzerland is asking its citizens whether cash acceptance should be included in the constitution, something Slovakia introduced in December last year. On 1 January Australia introduced (limited) cash acceptance legislation and on 4 February the Netherlands passed its Cash Payments Act. It feels as if wherever you look action is being taken to safeguard cash.

Cash Handling Free Free

Astrid Mitchell

3 Feb. 2026

4 min read

Celebrating Cash: An Opportunity

The readers of this article are likely to agree that cash, whether banknotes or coins, is a wonderful thing. Although the siren call of convenience is luring people to digital alternatives, cash remains part of the fabric of our societal DNA.

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Astrid Mitchell

23 Dec. 2025

5 min read

Reports of the Death of Cash are Greatly Exaggerated

This heading paraphrases words attributed to Mark Twain when his obituary was published while he was still alive. They seem strangely apt right now when it comes to cash.

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Astrid Mitchell

28 Nov. 2025

12 min read

MoneyBox – Reinventing Banknotes to Empower Young Learners Around the World

In last month’s Currency News™, we reported on a new programme for financial inclusion called MoneyBox. In this interview, we provide more detail on this far-sighted and far-reaching initiative.

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Astrid Mitchell

31 Oct. 2025

4 min read

Using Banknotes to Replant the Amazon – a Call to Arms

Jörg Eigendorf, Chief Sustainability Officer at Deutsche Bank recently posted on LinkedIn about monetising the protection of the rainforests. Coincidently, almost to the day, Biobanknote wrote to us about a project to reforest the Amazon.

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Dr Ernesto González Candela

3 Sept. 2025

7 min read

PerceptNote® - the New Technology to Predict Banknotes and Security Features Perception

PerceptNote® is the brainchild of two experts working in the area of banknote analysis, Jane Raymond from Secure Perception Research Ltd and Ernesto González Candela from UnderCurrency SA de CV. Each recognised the value of perception analysis for banknote design but also saw the problems and challenges of conducting perception testing with physical samples. In this article, they explain their solution.

Banknotes Free Free

Astrid Mitchell

28 Aug. 2025

7 min read

More Than Money: Guatemala’s Q1 Quetzal Symbolizes Economic Confidence

At the recent HSP™ Latin America conference in Rio, the winner of the Regional Commemorative Banknote of the Year award was Banco de Guatemala (Banguat) for the Q1 quetzal. The Governor, Alvaro González Ricci, who received the award, also spoke about the banknote in his presentation at the conference.

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John Winchcombe

28 Aug. 2025

7 min read

The Need for Revolution, Not Evolution

In the northern hemisphere, August has become the ‘go away’ month. Everything slows down and you can’t be sure that you’ll get a response. In those circumstances, we are risking affront by suggesting the need for a radical and fundamental review of cash and the cash cycle. Replies welcome!

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Astrid Mitchell

24 July 2025

5 min read

Uniting a Nation – the Challenges of a New Series

The Bank of England (BOE) and the European Central Bank (ECB) have both started the process of designing new banknote series. With counterfeiting levels low, the rationale for these new series seems to lie in a wish to ‘renew’ and ‘reinvigorate’ people and the idea of the nation (UK) or community (Europe). To deliver this, playing it ‘safe’ risks failure. Can the designers rise to the challenge?

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Astrid Mitchell

2 July 2025

5 min read

Cash is a Handshake

Cash is not just a store of value or a transaction, it’s a means of mutual human connection – in other words, a handshake. So said Mark Gould, Chief Payments Executive at Federal Reserve Financial Services, in his keynote address at the Currency Conference in Bangkok in May.

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Astrid Mitchell

27 May 2025

5 min read

New Currency Focuses on the World Under the Seas

As described in last month’s Currency News™, the new Caribbean guilder has now been issued. It’s been a long time coming, but well worth the wait.

Banknotes Free Free

Astrid Mitchell

18 May 2025

4 min read

From Money Trees to Honey Bees – Cash that Buzzes

The United Nations and its agencies hold international observance days (and in some cases weeks or even years) to promote global issues . There are 218 overall – many on familiar topics such as women, family, oceans, the environment. But there are some unexpected ones too - toilets, potatoes, tea, tuna, bicycles, seagrass.

Banknotes Coins Free Free

John Winchcombe

29 Jan. 2025

5 min read

The Opportunity for a Revolution in Currency Management

Chris Skinner, an independent commentator on the financial markets, blogger and author, has written an interesting piece about how technology is changing the way business is delivered. He wrote it about how the digital bank model needs to change, but how might this apply to the world of cash?

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Duncan Reid

21 Jan. 2025

8 min read

PPM Gives False Sense of Security About Counterfeiting

Due to its relative ubiquity, ppm serves as a useful means of comparing trends both within and between countries. But as a metric it has its shortcomings. This article examines some of those shortcomings and proposes an alternative method based on the number of banknotes used for cash transactions.

Counterfeiting Free Free

Astrid Mitchell

23 Dec. 2024

5 min read

Report Card: ‘A Mixed Year with Evidence of Improvement’

There is a perception that in 2022 and 2023 the currency ‘industry’ was a little flat, even lacking self-confidence, in the face of the fall out from the pandemic and the huge surge in digital payments as societies rapidly went online. The evidence of 2024 tells a rather different story.

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Latest News

Royal Dutch Kusters Engineering – Where Banknote Destruction Meets Sustainability

Money Talks: How Banknotes Can Enhance National Health Security

DataVault 2.0 - Digging for Data… Quicker, Smarter, Deeper

Developments in the Number of Banknotes in Circulation and Currency Denomination Structures

DataVault Unlocked – Notes and Coins of 2025

Safeguarding Cash

Celebrating Cash: An Opportunity

Reports of the Death of Cash are Greatly Exaggerated

MoneyBox – Reinventing Banknotes to Empower Young Learners Around the World

Using Banknotes to Replant the Amazon – a Call to Arms

PerceptNote® - the New Technology to Predict Banknotes and Security Features Perception

More Than Money: Guatemala’s Q1 Quetzal Symbolizes Economic Confidence

The Need for Revolution, Not Evolution

Uniting a Nation – the Challenges of a New Series

Cash is a Handshake

New Currency Focuses on the World Under the Seas

From Money Trees to Honey Bees – Cash that Buzzes

The Opportunity for a Revolution in Currency Management

PPM Gives False Sense of Security About Counterfeiting

Report Card: ‘A Mixed Year with Evidence of Improvement’

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