The European Central Bank (ECB) issued a press release this week confirming the total number of counterfeit euro banknotes which were withdrawn from circulation. During the second half of 2013 the total number of banknotes withdrawn saw an increase of 11.4% compared to the volume removed during the first half of 2013. Though this number…
The European Central Bank (ECB) has today issued a press release announcing the new €10 banknote. The new banknote, part of the recently released Europa series, will begin to circulate on the 23rd September 2014, allowing retailers and other cash handlers time to prepare for its release into circulation. The new banknote design will gradually…
It is known by many that Japan is a country which is very technically advanced. Cashless payments are commonly used in daily transactions and it would appear that Japan could be the ideal “Cashless Society”. Except it’s not. Total currency in circulation at the end of 2013 rose to Y90 trillion (US$860 billion) in Japan,…
A study titled “Supercritical Fluid Cleaning of Banknotes” has been published in the Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research journal, where scientists claim they have created a method to “remove human grease, microbes and motor oil” from banknotes using supercritical fluid (“substances that maintain liquid and gas properties through manipulation of their temperature and pressure”). The…
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has recently said that around 22 tonnes of their rupee coins are currently in India, having been left in religious places such as temples, churches and kovils. Sri Lankans on religious pilgrimage leave the coins as offerings, as well as items such as food, flowers or incense. However, the…
At midnight on the 1st January 2014, Latvia became the 18th country to join the euro currency. The changeover has caused a mixture of emotions, with some opinion polls suggesting almost 60% of the population did not want to move to the euro currency. However, business owners as well as the government believe it will…
BTCChina, China’s biggest Bitcoin exchange, has stopped accepting deposits in Chinese yuan. According to the company, the People’s Bank of China has spoken to a number of payment processors in China asking them to stop trading with Bitcoin exchanges by January 1, 2014. The BTCChina website posted the following note yesterday: “Dear BTC China users:…
A press release issued today by the Bank of England has announced that polymer £5 and £10 banknotes will be issued from 2016. The new notes will use similar designs to the existing £5 and £10 banknotes currently in circulation – including similar colour schemes as the previous notes and a portrait of Her Majesty…
The European Central Bank (ECB) is due to unveil the new €10 banknote in January 2014 and is expected to begin circulating later in the year. To promote the banknote’s security features, the ECB is holding an online competition for all European Union (EU) residents over 18 years old. Participants need to guess 4 of…
On December 5, 2013, His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent presented De La Rue (DLR) with the “Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation” at its new state-of-the-art technology centre in Overton, Hampshire, UK. The award is the highest accolade for business success, and DLR has now received 12 such awards in total since the company…