View of a harbour in Malta.

De La Rue’s Centre of Excellence opens in Malta

Following an announcement last November, De La Rue opens its Global Centre of Excellence for Security Print on the European island of Malta. The Centre was opened last Thursday, 30 March 2017, by The Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat. According to De La Rue, it has been designed to “deliver the next generation of…

Image of front and reverse of new one pound coin.

UK’s 12-sided pound coin is launched today

The new 12-sided £1 coin has entered circulation today, said to be the most secure circulating coin in the world. The new coin, issued by The Royal Mint, contains several new features making it difficult to counterfeit. Previously, the one pound coin had become vulnerable to counterfeiters, with one in 30 pound coins in circulation being counterfeit.…

Thumbnail image of the front side of the 2017 commemorative Nicaragua 1000 banknote.

Nicaragua issues commemorative 1000 banknote

The Central Bank of Nicaragua has issued a 1000 córdobas banknote into circulation commemorating the centenary of the death of famous poet Rubén Darío. A press release dated 20 March 2017 from the Banco Central de Nicaragua confirms that the commemorative banknote was released into circulation three days earlier, on 17 March. The banknote is a limited…

Durasafe® customer, Kazakhstan banknote.

Landqart expands Durasafe® customer base

Fortress Paper Ltd has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Landqart AG, has entered into an agreement with a fourth customer to use its banknote substrate, Durasafe®. Details of the new customer have not yet been made public, but they join the list of countries using Durasafe® within their banknotes – namely Morocco, Kazakhstan and Switzerland. Durasafe® is a banknote paper…

Image of Indian 500 banknote

Cash rationing ends in India

India’s citizens are now able to make unrestricted cash withdrawals, ending the period of cash rationing imposed on the country by Prime Minister Modi. From Monday 13 March 2017, all cash withdrawal limits from Savings Bank accounts were withdrawn, allowing the citizens of India to withdraw cash freely. The country has been through a period of demonetisation whereby the ₹500…

Image of ink rollers from a banknote printing machine.

UAE opens its first banknote printing plant

The UAE opened its first banknote printing plant, the Oumolat Security Printing LLC, on Saturday 11 March 2017 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai. The new UAE banknote printing plant is located in the Khalifa Industrial Zone in Abu Dhabi and aims to provide printing services for central banks across the Middle East. Historically,…

Ghana issues commemorative 5 cedi banknote

The Bank of Ghana has issued a 5-cedi banknote to commemorate the Central Bank’s 60th anniversary. The design of the new banknote continues to use a predominantly blue colour scheme, but incorporates illustrations of Dr. James Kwegyir Aggrey, the famous educationist and missionary who died in 1927. The banknote includes a number of new security features…

Thumbnail image of the new Uzbekistan 10 thousand banknote.

Uzbekistan issues new high value banknote

The Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan will issue a new high value 10,000-som banknote into circulation on 10 March 2017. The new note joins the country’s banknote family consisting of the 25, 50, 100, 200, 1,000 and 5,000-som denominations. The 10,000-som note is currently valued at around US $3. Banknote features The paper…

Hungary upgrades 2000 and 5000 banknotes

The Central Bank of Hungary has released upgraded versions of the 2000 and 5000 banknotes into circulation including advanced security features. Each note has a date of issue of the 15 November 2016, though they actually began circulating on 1 March 2017. The Central Bank, the Magyar Nemzeti Bank, will withdraw the previously circulating versions of each denomination from circulation by…