An interesting text from DLR about the five megatrends shaping the currency industry as central banks transition to more modern banknote.
Full text:
There are five megatrends shaping the currency industry as central banks transition to more modern banknote.
Combinational features and effects (such as used in KINETIC STARCHROME® and IGNITE®) are growing in preference over other branded single technology threads, bringing additional security, effects and aesthetic benefits.
More public recognition features are being selected per banknote – it is now common to see two or three such features on a single denomination. Drivers of this trend include the recognition that polymer brings security benefits as well as durability benefits, with consequent conversion of higher value denominations that require additional features, compared to the earlier low value denominations that started the transition.
Larger area features - holographic stripes are growing in popularity and large area of NEXUS™ allows a step change in security by embedding a stripe in paper banknotes. A thread covers less than 5% of the area of a banknote so is increasingly being supplemented with a secondary public security feature, such as a hologram. Holographic stripes on polymer are growing dramatically and protect both sides of the banknote simultaneously.
More customisable features. Simple patterns and movement are not enough to properly protect banknotes that are at risk of being counterfeited. Security features need to be able to be customised for the country they circulate in – this minimises the threat from thread harvesting and bleaching because each security feature is then designed to the theme of the individual banknote instead of being a generic pattern or movement effect.
Mass transition to polymer banknotes continues and represents the most significant megatrend within the industry. The Barbados new family launched yesterday, representing another 6 denominations that are transitioning to polymer. More are expected to follow because one of the final barriers to polymer adoption was removed with the launch of SAFEGUARD® ASSURE™ earlier this year. ASSURE™ provides level 3 security features in the very core of the polymer banknote. This means that polymer now has security features matching all of the types that are available for paper banknotes. It also has customisable large windows and durable blind recognition features, making it the most complete banknote substrate solution available.
