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SMI is the acknowledged world leader in the provision of independent technical & commercial expertise to the currency industry. Founded in 1994, SMI consultants each have many years’ experience working in the currency industry, and consequently have extensive knowledge and understanding of all aspects of the banknote and coin markets, offering consultancy services on a range of issues related to the security, manufacture, issue, circulation and management of physical cash in the economy.

Japan’s ¥1 coin production resumed

Coin, NewsBy SMI 05/02/2014

On Monday 3 February, the Hiroshima based coin-manufacturing department of Japan’s Finance Ministry resumed the production of aluminium ¥1 coins for the first time in four years. This is thought to be in preparation for the consumption tax increase which will occur on April 1, 2014. A shortage of ¥1 coins is expected amongst retailers…

Poland leads Europe’s contactless payments

Cashless Payments, NewsBy SMI 04/02/2014

During 2013 Poland made almost 840 million contactless payments using Visa cards, making it the top country in Europe for Visa contactless payment transactions. There was an 11.3% growth in contactless payments, almost double the increase in the number of payments in general, including ATM withdrawals, which was 6.8%. Source: Warsaw Business Journal

London buses to stop using cash

Cashless Payments, NewsBy SMI 04/02/2014

Transport for London (TFL) has announced that London buses will no longer accept cash payments from this summer, though the exact date is yet to be confirmed. Contactless payments using cards were first introduced in December 2012 and since its introduction there has been a steady increase in the number of contactless payment transactions. Currently,…

Bank of England allows filming of £1m and £100m notes

Banknotes, NewsBy SMI 30/01/2014

For the first time, the Bank of England has allowed the £1 million and £100 million banknotes to be filmed. The United Kingdom’s Channel 4 news program filmed the banknotes during a news article regarding Scottish Independence. The banknotes are a “physical manifestation of the relationship between the Bank of England and the Scottish banking…

Contactless payments for Europe’s largest store

Cashless Payments, NewsBy SMI 29/01/2014

El Corte Inglés, the Spanish department store, has installed thousands of contactless payment terminals for customers to make contactless card or mobile phone payments. With 5,200 of its terminals already replaced with the new Visa payment machines, the group predict that 60% of its terminals will have the new technology by the end of 2014.…

Commonwealth Bank releases contactless iPhone payment stickers

Cashless Payments, News, TechnologyBy SMI 21/01/2014

Australia’s Commonwealth Bank has made mobile payment technology available to its customers through the release of the new CommBank app and CommBank PayTag NFC sticker for iPhone. This follows the launch of the new CommBank apps and stickers for Android and Windows 8 platforms which were released in December. The technology is also in-built in…

MintChip Digital Payment Demo

Cashless Payments, News, TechnologyBy SMI 21/01/2014

The Royal Canadian Mint’s digital payment technology MintChip™ was demonstrated last week during the 2014 National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention and EXPO. Though MintChip™ is still in its research and development phase, Ingenico, a leading provider of payment solutions based in Paris, introduced the first proof-of-concept of the MintChip™ payment technology on a POS retail…

Apple Patents Mobile Payments System

Cashless Payments, News, TechnologyBy SMI 20/01/2014

Apple has filed for a new patent regarding mobile payments. The patent suggests that Apple is moving towards the release of a new smartphone device capable of mobile payments, possibly within the iPhone6. It concerns a Secure Element (SE) within a mobile phone in which to store cardholder information, near-field-communication (NFC – which was omitted…

Deadline looms for old UK £50

Banknotes, NewsBy SMI 17/01/2014

The use of the old £50 banknote design featuring Sir John Houblon is due is to stop from 1st May 2014. The Bank of England has been withdrawing the banknote from circulation since its replacement was launched in November 2011. Those wishing to use their old banknotes can do so until 30 April, after which…

O2 Wallet to Close

Cashless Payments, NewsBy SMI 17/01/2014

O2 Wallet is due to close on 31 March 2014. The digital wallet app, first launched in April 2012, allows users to make and receive payments using just a phone number regardless of their mobile network or bank provider. It works similarly to a pre-paid card, whereby users top up their O2 Wallet balance with…