Goznak, Russia’s Federal State Unitary Enterprise and one of the world’s largest producers of coins, banknotes, postal stamps and awards, is to be transformed into an open joint-stock corporation following orders from President Vladimir Putin. Putin has ordered that this occur within the next 18 months. All shares in Goznak will remain with the Russian state.…
The European Commission has advised that Lithuania has met the criteria for joining the European single currency, the euro. To be able to adopt the euro, a country has to have government debt below 60% of gross domestic product (GDP), a budget deficit under 3% of GDP, low inflation and interest rates and its own…
A report released today by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) shows that cash use in payment transactions is still the predominant payment choice but is one that is gradually declining. The BRCs Retail Payments Survey 2013 reports that cash has reduced in value, number of transactions and the average transaction value. When comparing to the 2012 figures, cash…
This morning De La Rue plc (DLR) reported its full year results for the 2013/2014 period. The largest commercial producer of banknotes and security documents, which has a market capitalisation of around £880 million, has reported a 37% increase in pre-tax profits for the year to March 29 2014, showing continued recovery from the paper production…
A Bitcoin ATM has been opened in Israel. The ATM was opened on the 30 March at the “Bitcoin emBassy”, a non-profit group based in Tel Aviv. The new machine, operated by the Bits of Gold company, enables users to purchase Bitcoin credits in exchange for cash. “I am proud that the embassy has made…
Last week the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the USA ruled that the digital currency Bitcoin should be treated as property, not a currency, for tax purposes. This means that every transaction a Bitcoin user makes will have to be reported in some way. If it had been ruled as a digital currency, this would…
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has issued its first quarterly bulletin this month, which includes an article detailing the Next Generation Banknote Project. Australia, which issued its first polymer banknotes in 1992, announced in 2012 that they were to begin planning a new banknote series in order to deter counterfeits in circulation “consistent with…
After a six month exercise led by its Executive Committee, the Bank of England launched its Strategic Plan yesterday. The Bank’s Governor, Mark Carney, has set out 15 initiatives to reshape the Bank which are to be implemented during the next three years. Most notably for the banknote industry, Victoria Cleland (former Head of Notes…
On Friday 14 March David Beeby, CEO of Innovia Group, confirmed that Innovia Security will be providing polymer substrates to the Bank of England (BoE) for the new £5 and £10 banknotes. A statement by Mr Beeby was posted on the Innovia Films website : “We are delighted that the contract with the Bank of…
The troubled Bitcoin exchange MT Gox yesterday filed for bankruptcy. A statement issued by Mark Karpeles, Mt Gox’s Representative Director, confirms that the company’s total current liabilities value is almost double that of their assets. “As of now, the liabilities of MtGox Co., Ltd exceed its assets and its financial situation is as follows: Total…