News

A Call for Standards in Currency Processing

05.21.2012
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Pretty well every conference has a topical subject or theme. The prevalent one at ICCOS Americas in Miami in March was industry standards or, to phrase it better, the lack of them (and the corollary, the need for them!). The theme featured most strongly in Roland Costa’s paper ‘A Journey into the Next Generation – The Fed’s Perspective’ but was prevalent throughout the conference. And rightly so.

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Bank tells customer: We don’t take cash anymore

05.14.2012
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Last week, Bjart Berge headed to his local Nordea branch in Stavanger city centre to deposit his remaining dollars after returning from a trip to the United States, only to be told the bank no longer handles cash of any kind over the counter…

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Meeting the Demand for Cash

05.07.2012
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When it comes to using cash, it’s like the flip of a coin: – Americans still use cash roughly one out of every two times they buy something. And for transactions of less than $10, physical currency—banknotes and coins—rules. Although less popular for higher-value transactions and rarely used in the fast-growing realm of online commerce, cash remains the most common method of payment for goods and services the world over.

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Fausto Giori – On The Record

04.23.2012
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After a career spanning almost 50 years with KBA-NotaSys, Fausto Giori has become one of the most familiar faces in the banknote industry, renowned for his role in driving forward developments in banknote production, and in particular intaglio, and also for his contribution to what have become the tenets of modern banknote design. This contribution was recognised last year, when the Banknote 2011 Conference presented him with a Lifetime Achievement award. Currently Technical Advisor for KBA-NotaSys, having stepped down as Technical Director in 2003, he has recently been appointed General Director of the newly-launched Intaglio Engraving Academy. In advance of Banknote Horizons, the four-yearly demonstration by KBA-NotaSys of its latest technologies which takes place April 29 to June 1, Currency News caught up with Fausto to find out what to expect from this event, his new role with the IBDA and his contribution over nearly half a century to banknote design and production.

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Remembering Adrian Baxter

04.04.2012
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My dear friend and long-time colleague Adrian Baxter lost his battle with cancer this past Sunday evening. To say that he lost the battle is an understatement. Adrian had a unique and inspirational attitude towards fighting this insidious illness – he faced it with a positive “win-at-all-costs” attitude, an amazing sense of humour and an open style of sharing information about his unfortunate situation. I feel as if he is watching me type these words and encouraging me to share my thoughts with you.

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The War On Cash

02.26.2012
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The Cashless Society – it seems that everywhere I go, I still hear the same story over and over again – cash is going away. Well, I am here to say that despite the monumental efforts of governments and other interested parties to dissuade us from persisting with paper and polymer, cash is indeed alive and well – and still growing in circulation.

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ICCOS Americas 2012 – Miami

02.20.2012
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We are looking forward to another ICCOS Americas event to be held in Miami Florida, March 11th to 14th. As with past events, we anticipate another fantastic line-up of presentations and interesting displays by this years sponsors. If you have never attended an ICCOS before, or if you have not attended on in a while, we strongly suggest you find it in your travel budget to attend this one!

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The Voice of Cash

11.06.2011
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What do grey squirrels and cashless payments have in common? Admittedly, the link isn’t obvious. The grey squirrel, classified as vermin in Northern Europe because it is decimating the population of the native, cute and fluffy red squirrel, is referred to by many as ‘a tree rat with good PR’. The connection is the power of PR (public relations) to generate a message that favours your subject, be it a grey squirrel or the cashless industry.

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ICCOS Asia 2011 – Will You Be There?

10.30.2011
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In an appropriate sequel position to my last post on conferences in the east versus west, comes the annual International Commercial Cash Operations Seminar (ICCOS) in Hong Kong, from November 13th through the 15th. Although there has ever been only one previous ICCOS in Asia, the experience and credibility of the organizers attracts a wide variety of central bank and commercial bank attendees, together with a good representation from associated equipment and software suppliers as well as partner organizations such as CIT’s and process outsource operations.

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Currency News – Investing in the Future

09.25.2011
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We gave some reasons to be cheerful in our comment in the July issue, and given the current daily predictions of financial collapse and economic gloom accompanied by highly volatile financial markets, we thought it is useful to see if the currency industry still does have good reason to smile! (And if you are wondering about the headline – we have stolen it from Ian Drury and the Blockheads, a pop group in the 1970s and a favourite of the editor).

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What If… No US World Currency and No Euro?

08.30.2011
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What If…..Europe without the Euro, and the US Dollar No Longer the Reserve Currency? The current economic crisis is putting further stress on the euro, to the extent that its survival as the common currency of the 17 member states of the eurozone is now being openly questioned.

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A Rising Star in Cash Processing

08.11.2011
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Over the years, I have found it interesting and informative to follow the adventures of new companies as they start to make a name for themselves. About a year ago I was introduced to a company out of China called GRG Banking. Although they are not “new” in the true sense of the word, they are new to those of us whose focus is mainly in the west. Although they were first established in 1999, it wasn’t until 2010 that they came on the western radar as a serious contender in the international cash processing market.

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Banknote 2011 Conference – A Synopsis

08.02.2011
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If one conference could act as a barometer as to the state of the industry, then Banknote 2011 would indicate that the mercury is rising. There has been plenty of news in the past two years or so to indicate otherwise. Coinciding with, although not a direct consequence of, the economic meltdown of 2008, a number of events have conspired to cast a pall over the industry.

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Virtual Currency – The Dark Side

07.28.2011
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Regular readers of Counting On Currency will know that I am committed to the future of hard currency. This does not mean however, that I am not interested in virtual currency. One particular form of virtual currency that has my attention is BitCoin.

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Nomination Call – Currency Hall of Fame Awards

06.28.2011
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The Board of Directors of the International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) is pleased to announce the establishment of the Currency Hall of Fame to honour distinguished contributors to the currency industry in their home countries and around the world. The Hall of Fame will provide a permanent public record and memorial of the achievements of its members, available to all those who are interested in currency, through the IACA web site.

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Is Polymer The Ultimate Counterfeit Deterrence?

06.20.2011
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Counterfeit detection is certainly the most troublesome and costly responsibility for those in the cash handling business. There is not a country in the world that is not impacted by this criminal activity. Perhaps the only thing more costly and difficult than detecting valid counterfeits is the effort that goes into trying to stay ahead of the counterfeiters. With new technologies and an ever increasing criminal appetite for the “easy dollar” (pun intended!) central bankers are constantly having to evolve and refine both overt and covert security features.

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Nigerian Cash Management Reform

06.06.2011
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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced a new policy, a reform of the Nigerian payments system to encourage the use of electronic payments. The policy becomes effective on June 1, 2012. The policy would impose penalties on consumer & corporate account holders at banks if they withdraw more than a specified cap amount, in cash, each day. The policy imposes penalties on commercial banks if they fail to rigorously follow CBN’s rules for consumer & corporate accounts.

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Is That Google In Your Wallet?

05.30.2011
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May 26th, 2011 marked the start of a new venture for Google. Actually, today;s announcement was about the merger of two new Google ventures – Google Wallet and Google Offers. The search engine giant is now poised to become a major player in the mobile payments arena, with the added value of combining a mobile payments platform with easy and instant coupon redemption.

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Banknote Producers Facing Stormy Seas

05.25.2011
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The commercial banknote industry is facing a dual challenge; one of its own making, and one caused by world events. We have dwelt on both challenges, separately, in previous issue of Currency News. In this article, we draw them together to present a rounded picture of the circumstances that, in combination, are aggravating an already-difficult market.

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The Note/Coin Boundary

04.26.2011
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In currency management, the note/coin boundary and the calculation of where this should fall is critical to public acceptance and usage of banknotes and coins, to optimising inventory management, to minimising the costs of production and circulation and, as a result, to minimising the lifetime cost of ownership and maximising the income from notes and coins (ie seigniorage) for issuers.

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Could Virtual Currency Become King in Developing Countries?

04.11.2011
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Hot on the heals of my post about a virtual currency called BitCoin, I have uncovered another rather surprising new paradigm. It would seem that increasingly people in 3rd world countries – what I prefer to call developing countries – are making a living by performing “micro-tasks” in the virtual economy.

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Rare Currency?

04.04.2011
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Who knew that Antarctica actually has it’s own currency. I have never seen or heard of this before. Now I am on the hunt for my own notes from the very frozen, southernmost continent. I can only wonder how many places there are to spend it?

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The BitCoin Project

03.30.2011
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Every once in a while a new idea comes along that simply stops me in my tracks and makes me think. I enjoy these moment because they are few, far between and almost always leave me enriched in some way – simply by gaining knowledge of a new concept or idea, having a misconception corrected or, in the rarest of examples, having a total philosophical epiphany. I can’t say that the BitCoin Project qualifies as an epiphany, but it comes close.

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Competition or Cooperation in the Cash Industry?

02.28.2011
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As the technology used in the manufacture and handling of banknotes has advanced, so has the cost of product and feature development, IP protection and production. Add to these cost pressures, smarter buying by central banks, an increasingly-competitive market with over capacity of paper supply and more state sector banknote printers attempting to participate in the commercial market, and something has to change.

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Cash Circulation Case Study

01.25.2011
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Since last year, Currency News has been running a series on cash circulation models around the world, and has so far looked at three countries: Norway, Israel and China. In Israel and Norway, the central bank has removed itself – either partially or entirely – from the cash circulation process (Norway has even outsourced the destruction of banknotes). In China, on the other hand, the central bank continues to maintain direct control over cash circulation, up until the cash reaches the commercial banks. The focus now turns to South Africa, an early adopter of global cash management technology which has one of the most forward-thinking cash industries in the world.

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Foiling the Counterfeiter

01.18.2011
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We all know how currency printers, security device suppliers and counterfeiters are constantly trying to outsmart each other. A recent paper published in the periodical Advanced Materials. It seems that science has advanced to the extent that it is now possible to print a transistor circuit onto paper using organic compounds. The science of this is far beyond my comprehension, but I do understand the basic principle.

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The Less-Cash Society

01.13.2011
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One of the most common debates I hear is about the use of cash. Is it growing or declining? There was a recent report from the UK that indicated cash use was surpassed by other forms of payment for the first time ever. I was recently sent a link to a report from the Aite Group that predicts a decline in cash usage over the next four years. Interestingly however the report does conclude that although there will likely be a decline in cash usage in certain demographic groups, there will be an increase with others.

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Happy Holidays To All!

12.20.2010

As is my custom, I celebrate the tradition of Christmas, with all of it’s meaning as well as commercialism. Sometimes the meaning of the season gets lost in the roar of the corporate engine and so we should find small escapes to reflect and remember what the season is all about. But then the chime for a Skype call goes off, or the ping of new email arriving – the digital age has struck again!

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Counterfeits: the Importance of Knowing Your Money

10.07.2010
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Central banks differ in their approach to the withdrawal of banknotes with old designs once new versions are issued. A period of co-circulation is inevitable, after which banks have a choice between allowing co-circulation of old and new or rapidly withdrawing the old notes (which it may decide to do when redenomination is involved or to replace a series that has been subject to large-scale theft or counterfeiting). But whereas some issuing authorities offer a period of a few months to a year before the old versions cease to be legal tender, many others allow the two versions to co-circulate indefinitely – with old notes only withdrawn when they are unfit.

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The Cost of Currency

08.11.2010
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In recent weeks there have been a number of articles related to the cost of creating and maintaining cash in society. On the one hand it should be fairly obvious that each note and coin in circulation has an inherent cost of manufacture. What is less clear is the ongoing cost of circulating authentic and fit notes and coins. First, let’s take a look at the obvious – what does it cost to make a note or a coin. The answer may not be as simple as the question.

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