The following circulating, legal-tender banknotes were the winners at the "High Security Printing Asia 2025" conference, held recently in Hong Kong:
- Best New Series: Japanese Yen Series (Bank of Japan) and Ngultrum Banknote Series (Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan)
- Best New Banknote: 50 & 100 Baht (Bank of Thailand)
- Best New Commemorative Banknote: 100 Somoni (National Bank of Tajikistan)
High Security Printing™ Asia focuses on government-specified and issued documents, including currency, fiduciary documents, excise stamps, ID cards, e-passports, visas, vehicle documents and licenses, with a particular emphasis on banknotes and the emerging technologies for ID and travel documents. The recent conference was held from November 30th to December 3rd, 2025 in Hong Kong.
Let's take a closer look at the polymer winners:
The Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (RMA) shared the Best New Series award for its upcoming ngultrum banknote series. It recently unveiled the designs for the first three issues in its new banknote family, denominations of 100, 500 and 1000 ngultrum. Designed and printed by De La Rue on its Safeguard® polymer substrate, the series represents a significant upgrade in durability, sustainability and public authentication. The banknotes feature a robust set of optical elements, including ARGENTUM™, ROTATE™, enhanced GEMINI™, tactile emboss, and a sophisticated holographic stripe with DEPTH™ and SPOTLIGHT® effects on the two higher denominations, depicting a dynamic dragon grasping jewels.
This series was introduced here in the blog:
The award for Best New Banknote was presented to the Bank of Thailand for its new 50- and 100-baht banknotes, which entered circulation in November 2025. The notes are printed on polymer. Their release follows that of the updated 20-baht note, which was first issued in 2022. The new notes retain the familiar designs of the current paper versions while incorporating advanced security features. The substrate for the 50-baht note is De La Rue's SAFEGUARD® substrate, featuring color-changing, iridescent, and hide and reveal security features. The substrate for the 100-baht banknote is CCL Secure's GUARDIAN™ substrate. It incorporates a complex window, a GSWITCH™ dynamic color-shifting feature that makes a flower on the note change from purple to orange when tilted, and a secondary window contains a METALIX™ pentagon with a brilliant metallic sheen and a lustrous gold finish. Both notes also include embossed and transparent diagonal lines, which can be easily touched and felt to support individuals with visual impairments.
These banknotes were introduced here in the blog:
Donald Ludwig, January 1, 2026
