VOLUME 13 – NO 5 / MAY 2015
Arjowiggins Sells Mill
in Salto to Fabriano
Progress in
India Paper
Dispute
De La Rue will not be releasing its
preliminary results for the financial
year ending March 2014 until the
end of May, but have announced two
events since the year end.
First is that progress has been made
over the unresolved issues dating
back to 2010 with the Indian
government regarding banknote paper
production contracts.
According to the company,
performance bonds to the value of
£13.5 million, which have been in place
since the contracts were entered into,
had been invoked by the customer.
The Board, it stated, considers this a
‘material step towards resolution of the
issue and that discussions continue
with this important customer’.
Sequana, the owner of Arjowiggins
Security and its parent Arjowiggins,
has entered into an exclusive agreement
with Italian papermaker Fedrigoni
(owner of Fabriano) to sell the security
paper mill in Brazil for €85 million.
The company has also stated that it has
reached an agreement with the Impala
Group to sell 85% of its shares in the
Security Solutions business for €110 million.
The sales will, says Sequana, enable it to
pay off Arjowiggins’ debts and bolster the
remainder of the group’s financing capacity.
The mill, in Salto in the state of Sao Paulo,
is one of nine owned by Arjowiggins
Security. It was established in 1977 and
employs nearly 400 people, supplying
paper for banknotes, passports and other
security documents, along with identity
solutions and creative papers. Sales in
2014 were €70 million.
It is in a unique position, as the only
producer of banknote paper in Latin
America, and is in a country that is part
www.currency-news.com
of Mercosur – the Latin America customs
and free trading bloc which includes as
full members Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay,
Uruguay and Venezuela (with Chile,
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru
as associate members). This puts the
company at a price advantage when
selling to member states.
Sequana, Arjowiggins’ owner, announced
a restructuring programme this time last
year that would see it repositioning to
concentrate on more promising market
sectors and strengthening its financial
structure.
Specific attention has been given to the
printing and writing paper segments of the
Arjowiggins business, which are in steady
decline and which have been described by
Sequana as ‘persistently difficult’.
The Arjowiggins Security division has always
been one of the group’s star performers –
with sales of €272 million in 2014, just under
30% of Arjowiggins total sales.
Continued on page 4 >
De La Rue has also reported the
completion of the disposal of surplus
land at Overton, UK, where its paper mill
is situated, for £9.6 million. The proceeds
will appear in the 2015/16 accounts.
Reduction in employees
In line with other companies in the
banknote market suffering from tough
market conditions, notably G&D and
Wincor Nixdorf in this issue, De La
Rue is reducing the number of people
it employs.
The workforce is being reduced by
approximately 40 at the Overton mill,
and by 60 at its printworks in North
East England (out of a total of 600
employees at the latter).
Further reductions of its 4,000-strong
workforce are rumoured to be on
the cards.
Industry Streamlines and
Adapts for the Future
The coverage in this issue of Currency
News™ alone points to an industry –
both on the supply and circulation
sides – that is undergoing profound
changes in response to changing
market conditions.
In banknote production, overcapacity
is driving falling prices for commercial
suppliers, and current demand is being
set to be constrained by the impact of
durable substrates and emerging cashless
payment technologies.
Overcapacity is resulting in extreme
price competition, leading to the
’commoditisation’ of the industry, and the
changes to the way consumers shop and
bank only add to the pressure.
Inside this Issue
1 Arjowiggins Sells Mill
in Salto to Fabriano
1 Progress in India
Paper Dispute
2 Industry Adapts for
the Future
3 G&D Reports
Improvements
3 Spectra Moves into Profit
4 Wincor Sales and
Profit Fall
5 Tracking Banknote
Paper Production
6 Argentina’s New
Banknote Series
8 Cloud Solution from NCR
8 Switch™ – A New Feature
for Windowed Documents
9 G&D and Louisenthal
Turn up the Volume
10 Ukraine’s New
100 Hryvnia
11 IBDA Initiatives to Secure
the Future of Intaglio
12 The 6th Asia Cash Cycle
Seminar (ICCOS)
2 CURRENCY NEWS | COMMENT
Sequana, the owners of banknote
papermaker Arjowiggins Security, has
announced the sale of its Salto banknote
and security paper mill in Brazil. Salto is
the only producer of banknote paper within
the Mercosur customs and free trading
bloc in Latin America, which gives it a
major supply advantage for neighbouring
banknote producers.
But even so, it can be argued in this day
and age that it does not make sense to
carry out what is an industrial operation –
ie. printing – in the centre of one of Europe’s
most expensive cities. (Some would also
argue that it does not make sense either
for De La Rue to hold onto surplus land
in a part of the UK with some of the most
expensive real estate prices in the country).
In Europe, Britain’s De La Rue under its
new CEO is taking action to optimise its
operations and tackle historical banknote
paper supply issues. The company has
started a major overhaul of its operations
and has announced a reduction in
headcount at both its paper mill and one of
its UK printing works.
With regard to NCR and Wincor Nixdorf,
they both operate in a market where the
digital and communications revolution has
had the most marked impact. The focus
for self-service technology has moved from
the metal box to the services it offers,
and the way these services function and
are managed.
In Germany, major banknote technology
company Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) is
planning to save at least €100 million from
its overhead and reduce its production
capacity, including the closure of its
banknote printing plant in Munich. In 2013,
it employed 11,660 people and is cutting
this workforce by 8%.
So in their case, the changes are being
wrought not so much as a response to
reduced demand and overcapacity, but the
way in which people consume and shop,
and the technology that now supports this.
Also in Germany, the second largest
manufacturer of ATMs and self-service
technologies, Wincor Nixdorf, is itself in the
throes of restructuring, at the same time
as refocusing on value-added services
and software. As is the US-based market
leader NCR.
One could be forgiven for thinking that
these changes spell an industry in terminal
decline. But a more accurate description
would be change in line with market forces.
Markets develop and suppliers – if not the
drivers for developments – need to adapt
accordingly. Otherwise, they will be left
behind, and ultimately left out altogether.
To quote one banknote supplier in our
comment at the beginning of the year, the
tide is turning and ‘only the clever, the flexible
and the self-aware can grow and succeed’.
De La Rue, for example, has been in a
process of almost continuous change and
restructuring to generate further efficiencies
in recent years, as successive CEOs have
sought to make their mark (and meet the
expectations, as a public company, of
returns for shareholders).
G&D, as a private company, did not have
the same pressures, and some feel that its
restructuring is overdue. Not so much in
its banknote activities, which have always
been the most successful part of the group
(although, as the example of Arjowiggins
shows, it is sometimes the most successful
parts that can be used to bolster the rest of
the company’s operations).
What is encouraging, however, about the
particular examples covered in this issue is
that restructuring (sometimes a euphemism
for cutting costs, capacity and people)
is being accompanied by investment
– whether this be in new features and
improved methods of production for
banknotes or the manner in which the
public can obtain these banknotes.
After all, cutting back will not, in itself,
secure the future of a company – one
can only cut so much before a company
becomes uncompetitive or even unviable.
Ideally there needs to be growth too –
and growth in a changing marketplace
comes from innovation, which provides
the new products and services to meet
changing requirements.
So for a healthy long-term industry – any
industry, not just our own – suppliers must
invest. And the signs here are positive.
G&D in particular has been very proactive in
developing new technologies and solutions
by investing a high percentage of its
revenue in R&D.
De La Rue is returning to its traditional
role as an innovative company. There is
no indication that this is about to change
from either company. Indeed, the CEO of
G&D specifically made the point that R&D
investment will continue.
As for NCR and Wincor Nixdorf, their
announcements point not only to a market
that is changing, but their determination to
ride these changes through fundamentally
altering what they do and make.
G&D Reports Improvements,
But Chairman Steps Down
This time last year Giesecke &
Devrient (G&D) reported a downturn in
2013 compared with 2012, with both
sales and operating profit adversely
affected (down 2% and 40.8%
respectively). The Banknote business
unit’s sales fell by 6.4%. These results
caused G&D to review its business
operations and strategy.
The company, in announcing its results
for 2014, described the year as one of
‘restructuring during which important
strategic decisions were made’. It
improved sales by 4.5% to €1.83 billion
and group earnings (EBIT) by 10.3%
to €62 million (although restructuring
expenses amounted to €74 million, so that
EBIT after restructuring was a loss of
€12 million). The company also reported
having made a healthy start to 2015.
In spite of this, and the evidence that the
restructuring is beginning to pay off, in an
announcement just one week after the
results, the company reported that the
Chairman of both the Supervisory Board
and the Advisory Board, Dr Peter-Alexander
Wacker, is resigning from his two offices
with effect from the end of this month.
The reasons for the departure were not
revealed, although the company’s CEO and
Chairman of the Management Board, Dr
Walter Schlebusch, commented that ‘there
are different views between Dr Wacker and
the management on the future direction of
the company’.
Commenting on the results, Dr Schlebusch
noted that increasing competitive and
pricing pressure in all markets relevant to
G&D meant that earlier countermeasures
to improve performance were insufficient.
He said ‘last year we therefore launched
an extensive cost reduction program
amounting to €100 million, with which we
will strengthen our profitability for the long
term. In addition, we have undertaken
structural changes at the company to
enable us to better adapt to market and
customer demands in future.’
G&D is organsed into three business
units – Mobile Security, Banknote and
Government Solutions. The changes
include the reorganisation of the first two,
and the operational realignment of the latter.
In practical terms, as announced last year
(see CN December 2014), they involve
cutting 8% of the 12,000-strong workforce
and closing the company’s printworks in
Munich, with production dispersed among
the remaining two sites in Leipzig and
Malaysia. This closure is imminent.
The Banknote business unit – comprising
substrates, printing, processing systems
and automated processing technology
– increased sales by 5% to €887 million
and continues to account for the largest
proportion (48.5%) of consolidated sales.
Earnings were also positive, predominantly
due to good sales in paper, foils, and
banknote security solutions. Sales in
compact banknote processing systems
and service sales were also significantly
improved.
The Mobile Security business unit, which
provides products, services, and complete
solutions for payments and secure
communications, saw sales increase
by 6.4% to €778 million. However, the
earnings contribution was once again
negative, mainly due to an even more
dramatic drop in prices worldwide.
Sales in Government Solutions, which
provides government security documents
and integrated ID solutions, were
€168 million, roughly 6% less than in the
previous year. The unit did not achieve a
positive contribution to earnings in 2014.
Last year, G&D formed the joint venture
Veridos with the state security printer
Bundesdruckerei to pool their international
sales efforts.
The company stated that a current healthy
order situation would have a positive impact
over the coming months. In 2015 G&D is
forecasting further sales growth and an
increase in EBIT slightly above the 2014
figure. Consolidated net income should
return to positive territory. The trend in the
first quarter confirms this outlook.
G&D will also continue to invest heavily
in R&D.
According to Dr Schlebusch, ‘I am
confident that we have good growth
prospects, with our innovative products and
our forward-looking business models. The
essential restructuring will give us a boost.’
In the meantime, the company’s
shareholders will appoint a replacement for
Dr Wacker to the supervisory and advisory
committees in the next few weeks.
Spectra Moves
into Profit
Spectra Systems, a US-based
provider of advanced technology
solutions for banknote and product
authentication, has announced
substantially improved results for
2014, and has moved into profit
for the first time since it listed on
London’s AIM market in 2011.
Sales for the year increased by 46.1%
to $16.91 million, driven largely by what
it terms exceptionally large material
orders from a G8 central bank customer.
Although the company indicated that
that orders of this magnitude were
unlikely in 2015, the customer is
considering entering into a ten-year
contract to include materials, quality
control equipment and services.
The increased sales enabled the
company to move from an operating
loss (adjusted EBITDA) of $0.66 million
to an operating profit of $2.14 million.
Or, after depreciation, a loss (EBITA) of
$0.81 million in 2013 to a profit (EBITA)
of $1.71 million. Net profit for the year
was $1.043 million, compared with a
loss in 2013 of $3 million.
The company has three main business
areas - Authentication Systems, Secure
Transactions Group Technologies and
Banknote Cleaning.
The Authentication Systems sector
generated revenue of $15.53 million, up
by 55.6%, resulting in an operating profit
(EBITDA) of $1.92 million, compared to a
loss in 2013 of $1.14 million. High points
were the completion of the large order
for the above-mentioned central bank
customer, including the delivery of over
115 upgraded sensors.
Also, phosphor sales reached record
levels in 2014 and a new manufacturing
facility was qualified by its partner in
covert banknote security features.
Banknote cleaning is a target market
for Spectra’s unique Aeris™ system.
The product is still in its trial stage so
generated no revenue in 2014, but
incurred development costs of $350,000.
During the year the Bank of Mexico
tested and declined the technology,
but interest in this new system
remains high according to the
company, and more trials with central
banks are planned for this year.
Business growth prospects were
noted to be in banknote and product
authentication development efforts as
well as in the breakthrough technology of
cleaning banknotes.
CEO and Chairman of the Management Board,
Dr Walter Schlebusch
VOLUME 13 – NO 5 | MAY 2015
3
Wincor Sales and Profit Fall –
Restructuring Program Launched
Wincor Nixdorf – the German banking
and retail hardware, software and IT
company – reported a sales decline
of 2% to €1.208 billion for the first
half of its fiscal year 2014/15, and an
operating profit (EBITA) decline of
31% to €47 million. It has, as a result,
also outlined details of a restructuring
programme aimed at accelerating its
transition to a software and
IT services company.
The company had already stated that it
would fail to meet its original guidance
issued for the current fiscal year so the
results should not have come as a surprise.
However, the EBITA margin fall from 5.5%
to 3.9% and net profit fall of 31% to
€31 million, coupled with the restructuring
announcement, still caused the company’s
share price and market value to fall 20%.
Product performance
The year-on-year contraction is attributed
primarily to a 12% decline in net sales from
the company’s Hardware business; growth
generated by Software and IT Services was
insufficient to offset this downturn.
Sales in the banking segment rose slightly
(+1%) to €783 million, but EBITA of
€29 million fell by 43%. Conversely, sales
in the retail segment fell by 6% to €425
million but the EBITA generated rose by
6% to €18 million.
In Germany, sales fell by 4% to
€277 million, accounting for 23% of
turnover. Sales elsewhere in Europe
declined by 4% to €553 million. In Asia/
Pacific/Africa, sales increased by 8%
to €234 million. In local currencies, the
Americas recorded a 12% decline in net
sales in the first half which, translated into
euros, corresponded to a downturn of 2%
to €144 million. On this basis, the total
sales generated by the Americas were
unchanged year on year at 12%.
Restructuring programme
According to the company, its restructuring
programme is designed to address
deteriorating business conditions in key
emerging markets such as Russia and
China, as well as the sluggish recovery in
investment spending throughout Europe.
Another factor necessitating realignment
is the continuing erosion of prices in the
company’s Hardware business.
At the same time, the trend towards
digitisation embraced by both banks and
retailers has added to the momentum
of change, with software and high-end
service solutions playing a prominent role
and opening up opportunities for growth
at Wincor.
‘We are looking to exploit the market
potential of Software and IT Services to
an even greater extent, as well as making
our Hardware business more costeffective,’ commented President & CEO
Eckard Heidloff.
Eckard Heidloff, President and CEO
The measures will span several years and
aim to achieve an additional positive annual
earnings effect of €120 million in 2017/2018
(which is the same amount of the total
restructuring expenses). In implementing
the programme, Wincor Nixdorf will reduce
its current headcount by around 1,100
(12%) over the next three years, of which
500 will be in Germany and 250 in other
European countries.
The expansion of the Software business
is to be achieved principally through a
combination of additional investment and
restructuring of existing capacities at a
staffing and operational level. Additionally,
the company will be aiming to make
acquisitions within the Software business.
Overall, Wincor’s goal is to double net sales
from Software within a period of five years.
The Services business is to be taken
forward to the next level, with an emphasis
on improved cost-effectiveness as well as
significant growth in Managed Services and
Outsourcing.
The company’s Hardware business will
remain an important pillar. However,
capacity levels in this area are to be
scaled back.
As a further strategic measure, the
Cashless Payment business unit, which
is expected to increase its net sales to
€50 million this year, will be carved out to
become an independent operation.
The intention is to position the fledgling
company in the form of a start-up that
could serve as a platform for partnerships
or collaborative activities in the payment
market, or to facilitate investment
opportunities. Or, as some have speculated,
it could be sold off.
As regards the current fiscal year (to
September 2015), the company now
anticipates a reduction of 3-5% in net sales.
EBITA before restructuring measures is
expected to total €100 million, and after
such measures €20 million.
Arjowiggins Sells (Continued)
As announced in the April issue of Currency
News™, it had recently transferred the
assets of its revenue protection business
(mainly tax stamps and brand protection)
and its ID and access control division into
two new wholly-owned subsidiaries –
Arjowiggins Solutions and Arjo Systems.
shareholders. The acquisition is being
financed through the writing off of
Arjowiggins’ €125 million syndicated loan,
with the balance being waived. Between
them, Arjowiggins Solutions and Arjo
Systems had sales of €54 million in 2014
and €7 million in EBITDA.
The reasons for doing so are now clear,
with the sale of these two businesses
to Impala, an asset management
company and one of Sequana’s principal
According to Sequana, consultation
procedures will be conducted with the
relevant personnel works councils prior to
the implementation of the asset disposals.
4 CURRENCY NEWS |COMPANY NEWS
It will also sell or close two further
Arjowiggins paper mills this year, both
involved in ‘commodity papers’ for which
the outlook remains weak.
After the sale of the Salto operations,
Arjowiggins Security’s banknote paper
production and R&D will be wholly basd
in Europe.
Tracking Banknote Paper Production
By Alan Harle, Inspectron
Production of counterfeit currency
relies upon a good quality paper stock.
Banknote paper has many built in
security features, which are very difficult
to duplicate, so forgers will try hard
to obtain original paper destined for
genuine banknote production.
Technical implementation
Some issuers are demanding much tighter
controls of the paper sources, and are
requiring that a full audit and traceability
system should be implemented in the
paper mills.
Machines may be running a job for two
or three days nonstop, and the cost of
unnecessary stoppages can seriously
impact production schedules. There can
be millions of codes active in the factory at
any time.
During production, banknote paper
passes through a variety of processes
and machines, starting as paper pulp and
ending as reams of sheets packed on
pallets for delivery to the printing factory.
Inevitably, at each machine stage, there
will be wastage. This can be simply as new
rolls are threaded through the machine, as
splices are made to join trailing and leading
edges of two rolls together, or in unusual
situations like quality rejects or tears in the
roll during production.
Throughout the process, quality sampling
requires that tests are made and reference
items are stored for later analysis.
All of this means that there are many
opportunities for some paper to ‘go
missing’, whether by accident or design.
Improved audit needs
Europe appears to be leading the way
in demanding tighter controls (although
specific details are not in the public
domain). In general terms, the new
traceability initiatives require that each
eventual sheet of paper is identified with a
printed code. This code should be printed
on the edge of the roll at the earliest
possible stage in the mill, preferably just
after the paper has dried on the initial pulp
to roll machine.
At each subsequent stage, the code is
read. By comparing the resulting codes
with the original printed list, an exception
list can be prepared, which will identify
missing codes, and the stage in the factory
where they deviated from the mainstream
production workflow.
Using manual code tracking, or
sometimes old fashioned human eye
tracking, management can reconcile
each deviant code with waste and reject
material produced.
Adding this kind of individual tracking to
normal in-house security disciplines, it
should be possible to account for every
sheet of paper anywhere in the factory.
Typically, paper moves through machines
at between 120 and 340 metres/min.
The atmosphere can be dusty, the web
can ‘drift sideways’ as the paper moves
through the machine, the paper can vibrate
if not tensioned.
A printed code has to be very small,
typically no higher than 5mm, within the
edge of the paper which will eventually be
trimmed off after printing.
The code has to contain a lot of information,
such as job number, paper type, batch
information and other secret data. This will
typically be produced by an inkjet printer,
using either a 2D or linear barcode.
All of these conditions conspire to make
reading, storing and analysing the codes in
real time a very challenging operation. High
speed intelligent cameras, mounted in the
machines at strategic points, will capture,
decode and store the images of suspect
codes for later analysis.
Hand held readers are used around the
factory, for tracking waste, rolls and sheet
pallet labels.
The challenge gets even more complicated
when rolls are cut into sheets. Paper is
moving faster, and there are more places
where rejects, jams etc. can occur. This
can make the operator’s life difficult at the
best of times, but identifying each piece of
paper as it progresses through the machine
can be a nightmare. Integrating the tracking
system with the machine’s internal process
control allows a display of each sheet’s
identity and its position in the machine,
so the operator can more easily find and
account for all items in a batch.
Production tracking database
A central database connects all reading
devices together, so that a real time picture
can be built of code reading at every stage
throughout the factory.
Remembering that interference with
production is to be avoided as much as
possible, any anomalies in code reading,
sequence errors, unallocated data and
erroneous reconciliation activity should all
be recorded in the workflow database, so
that both the production manager and the
external auditor can easily drill down to
certain production events, error alerts etc.
The workflow database can be
instructed to send alerts to the
production manager, so that he can
respond quickly to unusual events.
Reports of all aspects of production,
including lists of good and bad (rejected)
codes are stored for future inspection.
Summary
Banknote sheet traceability could become
mandatory throughout the paper currency
world. As a tool for improved quality and
security, it adds another layer of comfort
to those whose task is to monitor paper
production. If implemented with thought
and planning, it need not be a burden.
Inspectron specialises in security print
tracking and audit procedures. With over 30
years in the industry, including manufacture
of electronic passports and lottery tickets,
the company is currently cooperating with
some banknote producers to install paper
tracking systems.
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TECHNOLOGY REVIEW | VOLUME 13 – NO 5 | MAY 2015
5
Argentina’s New Banknote Series –
Connecting the Past with the Future
The state-owned printworks and mint
of Argentina is S E Casa de Moneda,
also known as the National Mint. It has
undergone something of a revolution
in recent years, increasing capacity
threefold through modernisation of its
equipment and processes, and training
of its staff.
Thanks to this turnaround, it is now not
only in a position to supply the country’s
requirements for banknotes, but also to
renew the design of these after 20 years,
and to introduce commemorative notes
which are seen as key to connecting the
state with the people.
The process has been undertaken
with the blessing and support of the
Argentinean President, Cristina Fernández
de Kirchner, and driven by Katya Daura,
who has led the organisation since 2011.
Currency News™ spoke to her about the
changes, the concepts behind the new
notes, and whether a new administration
(President Kirchner will be stepping down
later this year) will change the path the
National Mint is taking.
Q: After over four years as head of the
Argentine National Mint, what do you think
have been the highlights?
A: In 2011, we had a clear political
mandate: to recover the Mint’s role as the
national printing press, and to become the
standard in security printing. To achieve
this goal, we focused on the recovery
and refurbishment of our production
equipment, which meant a great investment
in technology but also arduous engineering
work so that we could have the necessary
synergy between new machines and older
ones that were still functioning. But, like
in every process of modernisation, it was
necessary to implement an ambitious
program of staff training, as we wanted our
employees to recover the pride of being a
Mint worker.
Some of our accomplishments have
been the implementation of the electronic
passport, the new voting registers, and the
recovery of lost clients and products. In
less than three years we have completely
renewed our banknote series with
excellent technical quality and high security
standards. We have taken production from
400 million banknotes a year (when we
arrived) to 1.5 billion now.
We have shown that a public company
can be efficient, proactive, and capable of
developing quality projects and products
for our citizens, agencies, and businesses,
at a par with the industry’s most prestigious
international institutions.
6 CURRENCY NEWS | ON THE RECORD
Q: How did you go about designing the
new series of banknotes?
A: The new series reflects a new Argentina,
one that since 2003 has recovered its
national identity based on ideals such
as social justice, work, equality and
sovereignty. All these ideals are embodied
in a government which is a driver of social
inclusion and equality of opportunities.
Regionally, this is part of a trend in which
our continent (or ‘Great Homeland’) is
recovering the true meaning of the heroes
of our independence.
From a historical perspective, we are
going through a special time, with the
bicentennial of our May Revolution in 2010,
and of our independence in 2016. This is
a time for taking stock, and this is why we
have decided to create our new banknote
series as a tribute to 200 years as a free
and sovereign country; we want to have
a dialogue between the heroes of our
independence and some figures from our
more recent history.
Katya Daura, President, S E Casa de Moneda.
Q: Will there be commemorative
banknotes as well?
A: Yes, our goal is to finish the year with
a completely renewed series. The starting
point was the 100 Peso ‘Evita’. This is
where we began envisioning a new way
of designing and printing banknotes in
our country.
A: Yes, President Cristina Fernández
de Kirchner has recenty presented the
sketch for ‘Memory, Truth, and Justice.
A Path Towards Identity’ for the new
commemorative $100 banknote. This
is a state tribute to the Mothers and
Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo and the
dedication, perseverance and bravery of
these ordinary women, who – in exceptional
circumstances that brought tragedy to our
people – fearlessly voiced a grievance that
changed the history of our country and our
continent. We are proud of bringing this
new piece to life, because our country is a
world leader in human rights.
Based on the same design architecture,
and in keeping with our tradition of
combining visual art with high levels of
technical sophistication, our notes have
been conceived as an effective integration
of the latest international security
tendencies with the historical context and
its symbols.
From the technical point of view, and taking
into account that our country does not have
a tradition of commemorative notes, this is
the result of a process of investment and
training, which culminated in the update of
our origination site. This has allowed us to
substantially reduce the development time
for our projects.
So far, the new notes of $100 and $50 are
already in circulation, and we are printing
the new $5 and $10, with Belgrano and
San Martín still as central characters, but
with a revisionist look at history, paying
homage to the common men and women
who fought side by side with the heroes of
our independence.
Q: How has this banknote been received?
From a practical point of view, we have
worked with ideas and images that are
easily identifiable by the public.
Q: Are you planning more changes for
the series?
From July, we’ll start printing the new
$20. In this we will pay special attention
to the War of Paraná and the defence of
our sovereignty.
A: We are in the midst of the origination
process, but the reception of the proposal
has been excellent, and during the
development of the sketch and after the
presentation we have met with many of
the leading figures in the fight for human
rights, and we’ve been working side by
side with them to improve the design and
the message.
In particular, I should mention the emotion
and the appreciation of two leaders in this
fight – Hebe de Bonafini and Estela de
Carlotto, of Mothers and Grandmothers of
Plaza de Mayo respectively – who knew this
was not only a recognition, but our support
in the search of the identities of those
missing that are yet to be recovered.
The last four years have been ones of
outstanding growth for our Mint, not only
regarding banknotes but also security
printing. In this new role of state security
printing press and governing body in
security printing, we are constantly working
to improve our processes and to innovate in
technology and production.
Our century-long experience in developing
security documents, and the strict security
protocols we handle, are our main allies at a
time of taking on new challenges.
Because of this and due to the advances
in technology and market demands, we
are working hard at being up-to-date in
our production standards, but not only in
printing. We have invested in state-of-theart equipment for design and pre-press,
which positions us to provide better
solutions in a shorter time.
Argentina’s new $50 banknote.
It is for us a source of pride that a banknote
will connect to us every day, questioning us
as Argentines and as citizens of the world,
about our past, present, and future.
The last note to enter circulation was the
$50, whose topic is the Malvinas cause.
The reception to this was excellent too,
and we had the recognition of mints and
countries throughout the continent who are
supporting this regional cause.
Q: What is the reason for the renewal of the
banknote series?
A: The series has been circulating for 20
years, and the demand for renewal can now
be satisfied thanks to our refurbishment
of the production line, the renewal of the
origination and pre-press facility, and a
strong emphasis on the training of our staff.
Q: You worked with Swiss artist Roger
Pfund or the ‘Eva Perón, an Instant
Towards Eternity’ $100 banknote. How was
that experience?
A: Working with Roger has been a pleasure
and a unique experience. Roger is one
of the most brilliant artists in the field of
banknote design. His professionalism and
talent, together with his high sensitivity to
social issues, have made our collaboration
very enriching.
Indeed, Roger took this Eva note, designed
over 60 years ago by Renato Garrasi
(a leading figure in the Mint’s School of
Engraving), and achieved a unique piece
that garnered international recognition and
awards, and it is a constant source of pride
for all of us.
...“we are constantly
working to improve
our processes and to
innovate in technology
and production”.
Roger was our mentor every step of the
way, contributing the genius of his art,
empowering our technical staff,
and showing us the communication value
of banknotes.
Q: You have talked about international
recognition. What has it been and how has
it been shown?
A: We have received international awards
that vouch for our prestige in printing
securities, such as Regional Banknote
of the Year (in Bogotá in 2013) for the
Eva Perón note, and the PMI Award for
Project Excellence for printing the new
voting registers.
Besides these international awards, we very
much appreciate the recognition of all Latin
American mints and their governments,
which have also congratulated us. I would
also like to thank the industry for trusting
us and having walked with us through this
process of transformation we carried out in
our institution.
Q: The National Mint is made up of two
parts. Do you plan on merging them?
A: Until 2012 Argentina had two
companies which could print banknotes:
one was public, one was private. In August
2012 Congress passed Law 26761
declaring the printing of banknotes to be
of public and sovereign interest, following
which the private assets were nationalised,
and their facilities and staff became part of
our National Mint. Since then both plants
are part of the productive process of this
public company.
Q: What are your challenges for the future?
A: The future is here now with immediate
challenges, such as finishing the process
of renewal of our machinery and printing
equipment; keeping our drive to recover
clients, and contributing to the development
of our country with our security, experience,
and know-how.
And we are currently designing an
interactive platform for our creative and
commercial areas with clients, both for
project approval and for the reception and
follow-up of orders.
Q: Some state companies are trying to
enter the international market. Is this the
case of the National Mint?
A: We don’t rule anything out. We know
that with our capacity and technology we
are able to cater to different needs of the
international market. In this context, we
are working in the development of the
temporary Mercosur passports, approved
at the 20th Meeting of the Work Group on
Consular and Legal Issues of the Mercosur
and Associated States’, which took place
in Buenos Aires last November. This is one
among other projects we are carrying out
internationally, mainly in Latin America.
Q: Do you believe this new administration
coming in at the end of the year will alter
the current path of the Mint?
A: Without a doubt President Kirchner,
with her political resolve, enabled the deep
transformation the Mint went through during
this administration. We are convinced that
the high security printing of banknotes
and public documents must be and will
continue to be in the hands of the state.
One of the guiding principles of this
national and popular project is that in order
to strengthen the state and put it at the
service of the citizen, the institutions are
more important than the names. This is
why we are convinced that it will be very
hard to go back from the road we have
traveled, because what we have done is to
empower the National Mint with investment
in technology and training of its staff.
ON THE RECORD | VOLUME 13 – NO 5 | MAY 2015
7
Cloud Solution
from NCR
Like Wincor Nixdorf (see page
4), rival ATM manufacturer NCR
is feeling the pinch in a changing
marketplace. Last year the
company’s profits fell by 56% to
$195 million, and it has said that it is
considering ‘strategic alternatives’
as it, too, refocuses from hardware to
software and services.
It is now investing heavily in developing
and acquiring high margin software,
applications and services and has
stated that one of its key strategic
goals is to increase softwarerelated sales, particularly cloud, as a
percentage of revenues.
To this end, NCR has recently
launched Kalpana (the Sanskrit word
for ‘imagination’) – which is software
designed to run cash machines
remotely through a highly secure cloudbased platform, and which it describes
as the biggest change to the way an
ATM operates since the self-service
banking channel was invented nearly 50
years ago.
Currently, cash machines are based
on ‘thick’ PC-based software and
hardware technologies physically found
in the ATM, each of which is complex
with management done by different
systems. By contrast, ‘thin’ ATMs will
comprise the hardware only, moving
all the software and operations to the
cloud in the form of an enterprise server.
Management of ATM networks will be
become substantially easier and more
secure with Kalpana , says NCR. It is
designed to eliminate malware and will
overcome the dependency issues on
third party operating systems (NCR
estimates that 75% of the world’s 2.2
million ATMs still run on Windows XP,
despite support ending a year ago).
In addition, it will reduce operating costs
by up to 40% by streamlining operational
processes. NCR estimates that a bank
with a network of 100 ATMs could save
up to $800,000 a year with Kalpana in
operational and security costs.
There will, says NCR, be upfront costs
in putting a server in place, and setting
it up to run Kalpana. But thereafter, the
company estimates that the return on
investment will be very rapid.
In addition, once the server is deployed,
adding new ATMs to expand the network
is essentially a plug-and-play proposition,
while the technology will also allow a
deployer to connect to other channels,
such as mobile and the internet.
8 CURRENCY NEWS |TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Switch – A New Feature for
Windowed Documents
Florida-based Graphic Security
Systems Corp (GSSC), a supplier
of optical security features for high
security printing applications, has
announced a new publicly-verifiable
feature for windowed documents
including passports, ID cards and, in
particular, banknotes.
The new patent-pending feature is called
Switch™, and combines dynamic overt
and covert effects which are all created
with Simultan printing. Sometimes
referred to as a ‘colour watermark’ or
‘three-way window’ effect, the Switch
feature displays at least three different
color images within the window and can
be authenticated like a watermark.
accurately coloured photo in another
lighting condition. It is also possible to
combine other optical features that animate
or change when tilted. Even barcodes or
other smartphone-readable images can be
revealed, layered within the feature.
‘It’s a very dynamic and flexible feature in
terms of design and evolution capacity.
I’m curious to see how it progresses in the
hands of banknote designers,’ said Quinn.
GSSC is now seeking Simultan printing test
sites that are ‘up to the challenge’ to take
the feature forward.
When holding the sample in reflected
light, one image appears on the front of
the window, and a different image on
the reverse. However, when the sample
is held up to a light source, (ie. viewed
in transmission), a third image appears.
In addition, examination of the third
transmitted image with a magnifier reveals
embedded microtext.
According to the feature’s inventor,
GSSC’s Director of Design & Development
Cary Quinn, Switch is secure by design
because it relies heavily on precise printing
registration and the use of windows in
documents. The fine details require offsetquality printing with perfect colour-to-colour,
front-to-back and transparency-to-opacity
registration. Only high-end Simultan
banknote printing presses can achieve this
type of registration.
Despite the emergence of windowed
documents, there is still a lack of security
features to use in these windows.
The challenge, said Quinn, has been to
produce a highly secure overt feature
that can be easily and intuitively verified
by anyone. Additionally, the goal was to
achieve this only with printing, so as to
avoid production complications and costs
associated with additional materials.
Front and reverse lit up
The obvious approach with windowed
documents was to take advantage of
transparency and public familiarity with
existing features such as watermarks
and see-through registration images, and
combine these features in one. Which is
what Switch has achieved.
Switch can reveal, among other effects,
accurately coloured flags, coats of arms
and portraits. If combined with registered
laser engraving, personalised photos
for example, can be generated variably;
displaying a unique inverted colout photo
in one lighting condition and the same
Magnified globe
G&D and Louisenthal Turn up the Volume
The benefits of intuitive recognition
from cross-referencing of security
features were given a strong
endorsement at the recent Intergraf
security printing conference in
Copenhagen, in which Wolfram
Seidemann of Louisenthal and
Christoph Mengel of Giesecke &
Devrient revealed two new Level 1
features, along with the thinking behind
the approach to their development.
Cross-referencing is key to this concept.
As Seidemann, Managing Director of
Louisenthal, commented, rather than
communicate the features, why not have
features that do the communicating
themselves?
‘There are many good features out there’,
he said, ‘but they tend to be single and
isolated, and it’s a challenge to fit them
together. Added to which, the issuers then
need to educate the public, telling them
what to look for and how – eg. look, feel,
tilt. This requires a lot of work, and our
view is that this work can and should be
done by the features themselves. Make
them intuitive!’
Key criteria for the selection of any
features are that they are proven, robust,
easy to identify and authenticate, familiar
to the public and counterfeit-resilient. But
an additional attribute, he said, should be
their ability to ‘talk’. And there are various
levels at which they can do so. Figuratively
speaking, these features can either
whisper, talk or shout.
At one level, notes can incorporate
a repetition of motifs to simplify
identification. Examples include the
use of the same image, such as the
portrait in the Intaglio print, watermark
and hologram. Such examples are mild
implementations of the ‘talking’ concept.
Turning up the volume, however, are notes
with features that have a harmonised
visual appearance, such as the colour shift
in threads or windows which correspond
with the colour shift in the OVI®.
A note that ‘talks’ – Morocco´s 100 Dirham with RollingStar® and SPARK®
An example here is the South African
series, in which the colour shift threads
match the colours in the OVI for the lower
denominations, and the SPARK® in the
higher denominations.
Turning up the volume even further
are notes with features that have both
a harmonised visual appearance and
customised dynamic effects. These
notes are said to ‘shout’. The first note
to encapsulate this concept was the
award-winning Moroccan 100 dirham,
in which the same complex micro-mirror
movement and colour effects appear
in both the RollingStar® thread and the
SPARK® patch.
The opportunities for harmonising features
with colour and movement have been
limited so far to threads, holograms and
OVI. But, on the basis that the watermark
and intaglio print are the two other
most commonly-used and recognised
features for public recognition, G&D and
Louisenthal have developed two new
features based on these techniques.
First is the use of Giesecke and Devrient’s
fitaglio® technique that uses intaglio
to emboss into reflective surfaces to
generate unique 3D structures, latent
features and dynamic effects.
WaterMask®: Perfect register of watermark and print
At the same time, Louisenthal has
extended the range of effects in its micromirror based RollingStar threads, which
combine colour and movement. Hence
the same effects – be they dynamic, 3D
or flip – can be replayed in the thread and
the print, opening up the whole note for
examination.
Second is the development of
WaterMask®. As Mengel explained, the
feature most easily recognised by the
public is still the watermark, but the
ability to integrate this with other features
is limited because of the difficulty of
registering the watermark with the print.
G&D and Louisenthal have managed to
overcome this, however, by laser marking
of IR absorbent inks by the LOOK®
technology, using the watermark as a
mask to perfectly register the print (hence
the name WaterMask).
The IR ink is printed over the watermark
and then is ablated with a laser only in the
areas where the paper is thinner (namely
the lighter areas of the watermark, which
contrast with the darker areas to create the
watermark image).
By definition, therefore, the ablated areas
of the print are in perfect register with the
watermark. Additionally the IR ink contains
fluorescent pigments which are not ablated
by the laser. The result is the watermark
modulation becomes visible under UV light.
With these new developments, concluded
Seidemann and Mengel, the five main
public features in banknotes can all be
customised to provide dynamic effects,
cross-linked in the design and hence crossreferenced by the public to provide simple
and, above all, quick authentication.
In other words, said Seidemann, by
turning up the volume, the features
communicate themselves.
Direct view
Transmission view
Direct view (UV)
TECHNOLOGY NEWS | VOLUME 13 – NO 5 | MAY 2015
9
Ukraine’s New 100 Hryvnia –
a Traditional Design with a Modern Twist
The National Bank of Ukraine has
issued a new 100 hryvnia, the first in
a new series that will be progressively
introduced over the coming years and
which uses many of the traditional
features of the note it replaces, but
with a modern twist and advanced new
security features.
The Ukrainian People’s Republic was
proclaimed in 1917, in the chaotic aftermath
of the Russian Revolution, and a new
national currency – the Ukranian karbovanet
– was introduced, incorporating the trident,
now the state emblem of Ukraine.
Immediately after putting the notes into
circulation, however, cases of forgery were
recorded which, together with political
changes, resulted in the introduction in
1918 of the hryvnia (the name is thought
to derive from the ‘grivna’ – the currency
of 11th century Kievan Rus, which in turn
derives from the Slavic ‘griva’, used to
describe metal of a certain weight).
It didn’t last long, being quickly replaced
by the karbovanet again, but was restored
at the end of 1918 when the Ukranian
People’s Republic reclaimed power.
The Ukrainian Bolsheviks then defeated
the nationalist government and created the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which
on 30 December 1922 became one of the
founding republics of the Soviet Union. The
Soviet authorities implemented monetary
reform and introduced the Soviet currency.
70 years later, following the collapse of the
Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine declared
itself an independent state and, with all
such cases of new–found independence, a
national currency became a priority.
The modern currency
Ukranian karbovanets were put into
circulation in 1992 as the provisional
currency, but became the victim of hyper–
inflation. Once the economy had been
stabilised, in 1996 the hryvnia was formally
introduced, replacing karbovanets in an
exchange process that took just one month.
100 Hryvnia front and back
10 CURRENCY NEWS | BANKNOTE OF THE MONTH
The first series of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 hyrvnia
notes were printed in 1992 but were not
issued until the monetary reform of 2006,
when they were put into circulation. They
were joined by 50 and 100 notes of the
second series, which had been printed two
years earlier. The remainder of the second
series were issued in 1997, followed by a
200 hryvnia note in 2001.
While the first series was printed by
Canadian Bank Note Company and
the second by De La Rue, the National
Bank of Ukraine Banknote Printing and
Minting Works was established in 1994 in
cooperation with De La Rue and, since then,
has produced all the country’s banknotes.
The third series – in denominations 1, 2, 5,
10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 hryvnia – was
issued between 2003 and 2008.
Then last December, the NBU presented
the new 100 hryvnia banknote, with
improved security features. According
to Yakiv Smolii, NBU Deputy Governor,
the process started in 2012 and forms
part of the Bank’s 2013–2018 Strategic
Programme of Cash Circulation
Improvement.
The note features an unmistakable portrait
of the same eminent national personality as
on the current 100 hryvnia note, the poet
Taras Shevchenko. It is also essentially the
same colour, yellow and light red.
The date of issue, 9 March 2015, was
chosen as it coincides with the 200th
anniversary of Shevchenko’s birth. The new
banknotes are being introduced gradually
to replace the 547 million old series 100
hryvnia notes, which remain legal tender.
The reverse has a completely different
design to the old note, which featured
the figure of a Kobzar (a blind wandering
minstrel) playing a konza (string instrument).
‘Kobzar’ is the title of Shevchenko’s best
known work – a collection of poems telling
the story of Ukraine through the eyes of the
wandering minstrel.
The reverse of the new 100 hryvnia note
is still related to the poet – but this time
depicts the Taras Shevshenko National
University building in Kiev.
Advanced features
Although counterfeiting in very low in
Ukraine (approximately 4 ppm), the main
objective in upgrading to a new series is
to introduce the latest advanced security
features and developments whilst
retaining the proven but more traditional
security features.
They include the watermark of Shevchenko
to match his intaglio printed portrait,
along with an electrotype of the 100
denomination. The denomination is also
printed in three places on the front of the
note, including one in strong relief for the
visually–impaired and another as an exact
register front and back see–through feature.
Also very prominent on the front is a
painter’s pallette and brushes in an
artistically designed SPARK® patch and
underneath it prose from Shevchenko’s
poem – ‘Shall We Ever Meet Again’.
The other prominent overt feature is a wide
Motion® Rapid™ window thread featuring a
kinetic trident with the denomination and the
hryvnia symbol in the centre. There are also
covert UV and IR printed security features.
The reverse of the note is printed in high
resolution Orlof offset and also has two
numbers, each in a different colour ink
and style.
This new 100 hyrvnia note is both modern
and traditional, ticking all the boxes for
a well designed banknote that includes
a wide range of high quality overt and
covert security features for the public,
cash handlers and machines, whilst
at the same time fullfilling the public’s
and government’s requirement for an
aesthetically pleasing banknote that instils
and reinforces national pride.
IBDA Initiatives to Secure the
Future of Intaglio
For over four years now, the International
Banknote Designers Association (IBDA)
has been acting as the unified voice
of the banknote designer community,
representing the interests, needs and
concerns of 250 designers across more
than 70 countries.
To this end, the IBDA has launched a
number of initiatives, key among which is
the Intaglio Engraver Academy (IEA) – a
training facility for designers and intaglio
engravers based in Urbino, Italy. The
IEA is described as the solution to the
disappearance of intaglio skills due to the
introduction of new technology.
The IEA is financed through the Intaglio
Engravers Art Foundation, into which
student fees and donations are deposited.
For those students unable to finance the
training themselves, the IEA has set up
an educational fund to provide financial
support in the form of a grant.
East Meets West
The IEA is now going from strength to
strength, not only in terms of student
participation but also in terms of new
approaches to learning.
One of these new approaches takes the
form of a soon-to-be launched programme
that aims – in the words of the IEA – ‘to take
us one step closer to bridging the cultural
gaps that exist within our community’.
The programme – called the ‘East Meets
West, Intaglio Cultural Learning Programme’
– fuses two separate, yet complementary,
learning experiences. The first consists
of a series of structured IEA training
courses, conducted by IEA teaching staff.
These include a customised and modular
training plan for student-focused learning,
culminating in accreditation by the IEA.
The second experience consists of a
number of cultural exchange seminars,
conducted by the students themselves.
These will provide a platform for participants
to share their knowledge, inspiration and
passion for engraving with their international
counterparts, in order to develop a more
holistic understanding of intaglio as a
security technique.
Intaglio Engravers Summit
Another IBDA initiative takes the form
of the Intaglio Engravers Summit (IES),
which was launched by the IBDA in 2011
to promote discussion over the future of
intaglio engraving. The summit resulted in
the formation of a dedicated group of ten
experts, collectively known as the IBDA
Intaglio Engravers Working Group, led by
General Director Dr Fausto Giori.
This year the working group will be
organising the 2nd IES, to be held in
September. Attendance at the summit is
reserved for professionals with an interest in
intaglio engraving (only 100 delegate places
are available).
The central theme of this next IES is
‘What is Good Intaglio? Perspectives,
Technologies, Challenges and Examples
from Around the World’. The summit
intends to take a highly technical approach,
with no commercial participation. This, the
IBDA states, will ensure that the focus stays
on real issues faced by intaglio engravers,
as well as by professionals working in
banknote design and printing, central
bank issuing and cash management, and
forensic evaluation.
World Engraver Project
A third IBDA initiative is the World Engraver
Project, which invites the world’s intaglio
engravers (who were, until recently, mostly
considered an elusive group, rarely seen
at large gatherings) to ‘make their mark on
the world’ by coming together to create
a milestone in intaglio history, namely the
creation of an intaglio engraved portrait
that embraces the artistic diversity of the
world’s engravers.
In practical terms, the project consists of
a large copper plate, over-printed with
the portrait of Italian Renaissance painter
Raphael, and cut into over 30 numbered
pieces. The pieces are being distributed
to participating engravers, who have six
months to complete their engraving work
on their allotted piece and return it to the
IEA. Once this has been done, the IEA will
recompose the entire plate and image into
one whole piece.
A limited number of individual prints will
then be produced, bearing the names,
signatures and identifying number of each
engraver. A commemorative publication will
also be produced, featuring information and
comments from the engravers, together
with their individual intaglio prints. All
proceeds raised through the sale of prints
and the commemorative publication will be
used to support future IEA students.
Participation is open to any intaglio
engraver attending the 2nd IES.
Intaglio perception workshop
A fourth initiative is the Human Perception
of Intaglio Workshop, which was hosted
by the IBDA in February 2015, and is
dedicated to creating better understanding
of how banknote users perceive intaglio.
The workshop, which was led by Prof Jane
Raymond, and primarily organised as part
of the IEA student and teacher training
programme, generated a lot of interest
according to the IBDA, and was attended
by several IBDA partners.
Professor Raymond is CEO of Secure
Perception Research, and conducts
internationally recognised research on
human brain function, with specific
expertise in human perception, selective
attention, and emotional response. Her
work on attention to advertisements on
webpages won her the prestigious WPP/
Google Marketing Research Award in 2010.
The workshop programme covered several
key areas of perception science and how
the capture and processing of information
by the human brain – such as colour,
geometry and touch – can affect the way
currency is perceived by banknote users.
More information about the IBDA and
these initiatives can be found at
www.ibd-association.com
The completion of this one-year programme
– which is limited to six students (three from
the East, three from the West) – will grant
the students an industry-recognised, IBDAendorsed certification according to the type
of programme pursued.
The IEA hopes that, by bridging cultural
gaps, the inspiration and influences that
drive the world of engravers will yield a new
generation of intaglio techniques, designs
and artwork.
ASSOCIATIONS | VOLUME 13 – NO 5 | MAY 2015
11
The 6th Asia Cash Cycle Seminar (ICCOS)
Currency Research has announced
details of the 6th Asia Cash Cycle
Seminar (ICCOS), which will be held in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from
8-11 September 2015.
This seminar has grown annually, with 266
delegates from 39 countries coming together
last year in Bali to share perspectives
and ideas, and to discuss key issues and
case studies. According to the company,
a carefully crafted agenda, including two
full days of plenary sessions and breakout
meetings, will ensure that delegates stay on
top of the latest trends and issues impacting
cash circulation in the region.
The seminar will kick off with welcome
remarks by the Deputy Governor of Bank
Negara Malaysia. Plenary sessions will
include ‘Cash Optimisation – Challenges
and Rewards’ by Maybank, ‘Making
Banknotes Accessible to the VisionImpaired Community’ by Reserve Bank
of Australia, ‘Case Studies on Losses or
Fraudulent Transactions’ by Brink’s, ‘Trends
in the Development of Cash Markets’ by
SMI, ‘Wholesale Banknotes – Dark Art or
Economic Enabler’ by Travelex, and a panel
discussion on optimising the cash cycle, to
name a few of the highlights.
In addition to the general sessions, a
number of breakout meetings will be led
by the event’s sponsors, demonstrating
their latest innovations and industry best
practices. Meeting topics range from ‘The
Benefits of Cash Recycling ATM & TCR’ by
Nautilus Hyosung to ‘Securing the Cash
Cycles with Integrated & Intelligent Security
Solutions’ by G4S.
Meetings will also be hosted by De La
Rue, Giesecke & Devrient, Glory Global
Solutions, Hitachi, Fiserv, Innovia Systems,
NCR, SICPA, Swisslog, Oberthur Cash
Protection and Toshiba.
The pre-seminar workshop will, this year,
focus on the issue of cash reconciliation.
And for the first time, a closed-door preseminar central bank summit will take
place, moderated by the host country’s
Bank Negara Malaysia.
A post-seminar symposium for all
delegates, with the theme ‘Banknote
Production – Where the Cash Cycle Begins’
will again be offered following the event.
More information can be found at
www.asia.iccos.com.
Events
10–15 MAY 2015
Publisher: Currency Publications Ltd
(a Reconnaissance Currency Research company)
Editor: Astrid Mitchell (right)
Editorial Advisors: Richard Haycock, Martyn White
Contributors: David Tidmarsh, Alan Harle
Advisors: Michael Boehm, Mark Crickett, Tom Ferguson, Eugenie Foster,
Lahcen Hadouni, James Hussey, Brian Lang, Francis Ravez, Raul Sierra
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Charter Subscribers
THE CURRENCY CONFERENCE
Vancouver, Canada
www.currencyconference.com
31 MAY–02 JUNE 2015
ESTA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Berlin, Germany
www.esta-cash.eu
07–13 JUNE 2015
TEMAN 2015
Jakarta, Indonesia
www.teman2015.com
22–24 JUNE 2015
HIGH SECURITY PRINTING LATIN AMERICA
Lima, Peru
www.hsp-latinamerica.com
02–03 SEPTEMBER 2015
FOLLOW THE CASH 2015
Bristol, UK
www.currencysupplychain
solutions.com
08–11 SEPTEMBER 2015
THE ASIA CASH CYCLE SEMINAR (ICCOS)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
www.asia.iccos.com
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12 CURRENCY NEWS | CONFERENCES