The National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan issued a press release on the 12 December 2013 confirming the issue of a new commemorative KZT 1,000 tenge banknote. The note, dedicated to the Second Turkic Kaganate general Kultegin, uses a paper substrate with yellow-brown being the prevalent colour. It has a 12mm holographic band/stripe which…
At a media news conference held on the 12 December in Berne, Switzerland, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) advised that the first of its new denomination series will not be issued until 2015 at the earliest. The release of the new banknotes has suffered a series of delays but the SNB states that due to…
A US patent application has been filed by JPMorgan Chase for an online payment system, resembling the Bitcoin virtual currency. The application says that its new payment system will compete with credit and debit cards for online transactions, creating “virtual cash” that will sit in an online wallet. Similarly to Bitcoin’s “blockchain” technology, each transaction…
On the 10th December Fortumo, a mobile payments provider, launched mobile operator billing in Indonesia. Founded in 2007, Fortumo is “the most developer-friendly mobile payments provider”, enabling developers to earn money from users who purchase their apps and games which are charged to the users’ mobile phone bill. Indonesia is the fourth largest country by…
Norges Bank, the Central Bank of Norway, has announced that the theme of their new banknote series will feature the sea to reflect its importance for Norway’s economy. Work on the new banknote series, the 8th in total, began in the autumn of 2012. Norges Bank has said that there is a “need to enhance…
This video is for a new San Francisco based start-up company called Coin. Their stated goal is to build products which “simplify, improve, and fit seamlessly into your life”. The new product, ironically known as Coin®, is a new digital payment card which stores the details of all your payment cards – meaning that you…
The Bermudan Monetary Authority (BMA) is reminding the public that the legacy, horizontal Bermuda banknotes will no longer be legal tender after 31st December 2013. A press release issued by the Bermuda Monetary Authority included an explanation from Shanna Lespere, Director of Operations: “Back in June, the Authority announced that the legacy banknote series will…
The UK’s Transport for London (TFL) has announced that the use of contactless credit, debit or charge cards will be available on the tube, Docklands Light Railway (DLR), trams and London Overground rail services by early 2014. The payment cards will be used in the same way as the current Oyster card system, where users hold…
On Saturday 30 November 2013, East African Community leaders signed the Monetary Union Protocol, with the intention to have a single currency in 10 years’ time. The signing ceremony, held in Uganda, was witnessed by Members of the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA), diplomats and high ranking government officials of member states. Kenya’s President Uhuru…
A local news agency (Jiji Press) has reported that Japan’s Ministry of Finance has launched a promotion campaign to attract orders to print foreign banknotes. The National Printing Bureau (NPB), Tokyo, is highlighting Japan’s “cutting-edge anti-counterfeit technologies” in the hope of attracting orders. They will also offer passport printing services in addition to the current…