Image courtesy of Giesecke & Devrient (G&D)

Yesterday Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) presented their latest technology to fight against banknote counterfeiters at the Banknote 2012 conference in Washington D.C. A press release was also issued by the company detailing their new product: MAGnite.

This banknote security feature uses “high performance pigments that allow reversible changes between two colour states” when in range of a magnetic field. In summary, when a magnet is held close to a banknote using MAGnite, the pigments align to form eye catching optical effects which can be seen by the user, allowing the user to verify its authenticity.

Whilst many may initially think “I don’t keep a magnet in my pocket” and subsequently wonder how useful this new security feature may be, in fact any magnet can be used – including your mobile phone. And when you consider the fact that a 2012 report by the World Bank states that 75% of the global population has a mobile phone (or cell phone), suddenly the usefulness of this product becomes much more apparent.

Source: Giesecke & Devrient