Latest News

Astrid Mitchell

28 Oct. 2021

2 min read

Optical & Digital Document Security Conference Programme

Registration is now open for the new Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference, which will be in Vienna, Austria, 17-19 January 2022, with the programme available to view online at opticaldigitalsecurity.com.

Events

Tod Niedeck

17 Oct. 2021

5 min read

Sustainability: A Hallmark of Cash

An early memory, when beginning my career at Crane Currency, was noticing long rows of steaming compost in the fields adjacent to the company’s banknote paper mills. I learned that much of this organic material was made up of solids from the papermaking process – cotton and flax ‘fines’ that, when mixed with other field and yard waste, produced a rich and valuable compost.

Comment Sustainability

Astrid Mitchell

30 Sept. 2021

2 min read

The CashTech Forum – Where Cash and Digital Technology Meet

CashEssentials – the think tank specialising in payments and monetary systems – has launched the CashTech Forum to promote innovation and technology, thereby ensuring a sustainable and future-proof cash ecosystem.

Technology

Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2021

4 min read

Winners of IACA Awards for Pandemic Response Initiatives

The International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) held its Excellence in Currency awards ceremony on 23 September, at which it presented the eight nominations and announced the winners of the ‘Best Currency Initiative Implemented in Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic’.

COVID-19

Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2021

2 min read

Goznak Sales and Profit Fall in 2020, but Exports Up

Goznak is a joint stock company in which the sole shareholder is the Russian government. It competes in both Russian and global markets for security products, with a portfolio ranging from banknotes and banknote paper, circulating and commemorative coins, identity documents, excise and postage stamps to, more recently, digital technologies.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2021

5 min read

Uncertainty Prevails

This is now the seventh Industry Watch, covering 21 months, where COVID-19 has been the main issue influencing market values and trends. Given the differing impact of COVID at a given time on regions and industries and, as we are entering the last quarter of 2021, it is useful to compare the performance year to date in both our usual selected world markets and separately in markets in some other countries.

Companies COVID-19

Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2021

4 min read

After the Pandemic – What Next for the Cash Industry?

We normally reserve the crystal ball gazing in Currency News™ for the end of the year, but the pandemic is no respecter of editorial calendars, and the consequences of the pandemic on our industry will last long beyond the next calendar year.

Comment COVID-19

Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2021

2 min read

NPA’s New MES Delivered On Time, Despite Challenges

Despite the obstacles associated with bringing a six-person technical team to Melbourne from Milan, not to mention the delays caused by the blockage of the Suez Canal, Parvis has successfully delivered a new ABACO-MES to Note Printing Australia within the planned four-month timeframe.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2021

2 min read

Regional Banknote of the Year Awards to Go Online for 2021

One of the highlights of the High Security Printing™ conferences each year are the regional awards for the best banknotes and ID documents. Thanks to COVID-19, no in-person HSP has been possible since the last event in Lisbon in March 2020. Reconnaissance International, organiser of the HSP events, has decided to bridge the gap by holding a series of virtual awards instead.

Events

Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2021

3 min read

In Other News

Japan’s National Printing Bureau has started producing new 10,000 yen banknotes, which are expected to enter circulation in the first half of 2024. A special ceremony was held to mark the start of production, attended by Finance Minister Aso Taro.

News

Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2021

5 min read

News in Brief

Slovakia may be the next EU monetary union participant to drop the two lowest denomination euro coins. The Slovakian cabinet has issued a draft revision to the law on prices and, if passed by the Slovakian Parliament, the new pricing rules would become effective 1 January 2022.

News

Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2021

1 min read

More Bicentennial Celebrations

Close on the heels of Guatemala, another country in Latin America that has issued a commemorative banknote to celebrates its bicentennial this year is the Bank of Mexico, with a new 20 peso. The latest GUARDIAN® polymer banknote issued in the Bank’s G series of notes, the new 20 pesos depicts the Army of the Three Guaranties (Religion, Union and Independence) entering Mexico City on 27 September 1821.

Banknotes

Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2021

2 min read

Major Order from India for CPS

Cash Processing Solutions (CPS) has announced a multimillion-pound contract to supply Single Note Inspection Systems to the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd (SPMCIL).

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2021

2 min read

People in the News

Following its AGM, the International Currency Association has elected three new Board members – Sam Keayes (Crane Currency), Etienne Couëlle (Oberthur Fiduciaire) and Roberto Salgari (Parvis).

Central Banks News

Astrid Mitchell

29 Sept. 2021

2 min read

De La Rue to Further Upgrade Production in Malta

De La Rue has announced a major upgrade to its existing facilities in Malta, to turn them into a 29,000 m² state-of-the-art manufacturing site. This investment is supported by Malta’s economic development agency, Malta Enterprise, and the Maltese government.

Companies

Astrid Mitchell

23 Sept. 2021

3 min read

Bank Al-Maghrib Invests in Green Technology

In 1987, Morocco established its own national banknote printing and minting company, Dar As-Sikkah, a department of the central bank (Bank Al-Maghrib) responsible for printing banknotes, minting coins, and producing secure documents.

Central Banks Technology

Astrid Mitchell

23 Sept. 2021

4 min read

Guatemalan Independence Creates a Banknote in a New Light

2021 is a profoundly important year for much of Central America. Guatemala celebrates its bicentennial, recognising 200 years of independence from Spain, declared on 15 September 1821 in what is known as the Act of Independence of Central America.

Banknotes

Antti Heinonen

19 Sept. 2021

8 min read

The Paradoxical Development of the Usage of Cash During the Pandemic: Part II

The acceleration of the paradoxical cash developments during the ongoing pandemic, namely the decline in cash usage at point of sale accompanied by surge in cash holdings, was addressed in the June issue of Currency News.

COVID-19 Studies, Reports

Andrea Nitsche

19 Sept. 2021

10 min read

Why Cash Matters – Not Despite but Because of COVID

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the global poor. It has also strongly impacted the lives of many women, and, as a consequence, children, the world over. For everyone thus affected by COVID-19, cash is often a lifeline, a means of support, of escape and maintaining personal freedom, of independence and of securing livelihoods.

Comment COVID-19 Free Free

Astrid Mitchell

30 Aug. 2021

10 min read

Catch Me if You Can – ECB Reports on Cash and COVID

A new report published last month – ‘Catch Me (If You Can): Assessing the Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission via Euro Cash’ – by the European Central Bank (ECB) sought to answer key questions such as, how long do coronaviruses remain infectious on banknotes and coins? Is it possible to become infected through contact with cash?

COVID-19 Studies, Reports