Bank of England Confirms Polymer Banknotes

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…

Europa

ECB launches €10 banknote competition

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…

De La Rue Wins Queen’s Award

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…

Kazakhstan note

New Kazakhstan Commemorative Banknote

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…

New Swiss Banknotes to be issued from 2015

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…

Norway’s New Banknote Theme: The Sea

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…

Bermuda legacy banknote

Bermuda Legacy Banknotes Deadline Approaches

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…

Japan Promotes Banknote Printing Services

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…

Nigeria - 5 banknote

Nigeria considers ditching polymer

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is reportedly considering a move from polymer banknotes back to traditional paper. Low denominations banknotes have been issued with a polymer substrate – the N5, N10, N20 and N50 – since 2006 after the CBN signed a deal with Australia’s Securency International to print low value, high circulation Naira banknotes…

Europa

ECB to introduce new €10 banknote

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced that a new Europa series €10 banknote will be unveiled on January 13, 2014 and issued later in the year. The Partnership Program, held by the ECB and the national Central Banks (NCB) in the Euro area on November 26, 2013, aimed to help banknote equipment manufacturers and suppliers,…