Glossary

Represents the various stages of the cash lifecycle, from issuance by the central bank, circulation in the economy, to destruction by the central bank.

The value (or number of units) of banknotes and coins in circulation within an economy. Cash in circulation is included in the M1 monetary aggregate category (broad categories that measure the money supply in an economy) and comprises only banknotes and coins in circulation outside of the cash reserves held by monetary financial institutions. Cash in circulation also does not include the balance of the central bank’s own banknotes, as they have not been issued.

Describes the logistical handling of banknotes, coins, and items of value. This can include transportation, storage, counting and processing, and packaging. CIT companies are often responsible for the replenishment and servicing of ATMs and are often private security companies.

The action of putting back into circulation, over the counter or through an automated teller machine, banknotes and coins that cash handlers have received either from the public (as payment or as a deposit), or from another cash handler. The cash must be checked for authenticity and sorted for fitness by banks and cash-in-transit companies before being recirculated.

An ATM which can accept, validate and store banknotes which then become available for customers who wish to withdraw cash. Cash recycling ATMs need to comply with recirculation regulations imposed by the central bank. The term recycling is improperly used instead of recirculating but has become commonly accepted.

The intersection of cash and digital technology, whereby software and apps are used to provide access to cash services for withdrawal, deposits and bill payments.

A container used for storing banknotes when in transit or within ATMs and other cash devices. Smart versions act as sophisticated mobile vaults, with geolocation transmitters, remote electronic access keys, PIN pads and intelligent banknote destruction systems.

A plant material that is used in the manufacture of pulp for papermaking.

An institution that manages the currency and operates the monetary policy of a state or formal monetary union. Central banks can also be tasked with supervising commercial banking systems. Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally independent from political interference.

A liability of a central bank, including banknotes in circulation and deposits of other banks with the central bank.

A ledger (ie. record of financial transactions), kept in one place. Often as part of a closed system, ie. with limited and controlled access, to help safeguard the ledger from unauthorised access. RTGS (real-time gross settlement) systems are, typically, centralised.

A run of banknotes with a change in signatures, series, or varieties without an interruption in the serial numbering. Occasionally, duplicate serial numbers can occur.

Also known as a checksum character or control digit, this is usually the last digit of a number or barcode used to verify that the number is correct. A decoder calculates the checksum by performing a series of mathematical operations on the digits that precede the check digit, and comparing the result of the calculation to the value of the check digit.

Security papers which react to common solvents used to remove ink from a security document.

The length of time between a banknote being issued and being returned to a cash centre for sorting and a fitness assessment.

A classic hologram is usually made using a 3D object, often a model. A laser beam is split in two and part of it is diverted onto the object, then reflected off it and allowed to combine (or interfere) with the other part of the beam known as the reference beam. The classic hologram is a recording of the interference pattern between the object and reference beams. A well-known example of a classic hologram is the dove used by Visa on its credit cards.

A policy adopted by central banks to maintain the quality of circulating banknotes.

A non-printed area of a substrate which is transparent when viewed against the light. In ID, a clear window is used for applying an additional image of the holder, as a verification filter or for visualising latent scrambled information.

Typically an integral layer of material added to alter, enhance or protect the surface properties of an underlying base substrate or printed surface.

Light that passes through an optical system parallel to the optical axis, for instance where the direction of illumination and direction of observation are in parallel. Coaxial light is used to reveal hidden motifs in retroreflective laminate.

A system of words, letters, figures, or symbols used to represent certain information.

The magnetic field strength necessary to demagnetise a ferromagnetic material that is magnetised to saturation.

Long strips of metal from which coin blanks are punched.

Usually a small, flat, round piece of metal alloy (or combination of metals), marked with a device and used primarily as legal tender. Issued by government authorities, coins are standardised in weight and composition and are produced at mints.

A foil application process that does not require heat.

An optically variable effect whereby a material – usually a thin film or ink – changes from one colour to another, or from one colour to clear, when the viewing angle is altered.

A banknote issued by a central bank to mark a special occasion or in remembrance of a person. These banknotes tend to have special features in terms of design, structure and composition. Their production may be limited in number of prints. Not all countries issue commemorative banknotes. The banknote may, or may not, be legal tender.

A financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit. It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with corporations or large/middle-sized business to differentiate it from a retail bank and investment bank. Commercial banks include private and public sector banks.

A government agency designated to implement a system, such as a tax stamp and track and trace solution.

In the context of substrates, this is used to describe paper/polymer combinations – either when the polymer forms the core, with the paper fused to the polymer, or when the paper forms the core, with polymer layers laminated either side. Composite substrates combine the security properties of paper (including the integration of threads and watermarks) with the durability of polymer.

A legal system that previously operated under the gold standard, allowing the conversion of banknotes into gold coins, gold bars or gold-denominated certificates payable in gold on demand, according to established conversion rates.

The illegal production and sale of goods (including packaging) bearing a trademark that is identical to a validly registered trademark or that cannot be distinguished from such a trademark. Also refers to the reproduction of a banknote or security document that looks authentic but has been manufactured fraudulently with the intent to deceive the public.

A central database in the Eurosystem area, containing all technical and statistical information on counterfeiting, both on euro banknotes and coins, whether originated in EU member states or third countries.

An image, symbol or text that is invisible to the unaided eye as well as under a microscope, but that can be visualised by a laser beam. It is formed when recording a hologram image using e-beam lithography, as a 1 micron-sized area on the hologram surface.

Covert (or hidden) features require a detector or instrument in their detection, which are usually only available to officials such as enforcement authorities and central banks.The general public and supply chain operators generally do not know about these features.

The official means of payment of a state/monetary union recognised as such by monetary laws.

A papermaking machine that drains stock through a fine wire mesh cylinder rotating inside a vat of pulp stock, to form a continuous wet ply of board. This method is not customarily used for documents like tax stamps, due to the weight of the paper, and is rather used for banknote paper production. Tax stamp paper is instead produced by a Fourdrinier machine.

A mesh-covered hollow roll placed on top of a Fourdrinier papermaking machine. The dandy roll breaks up fibre clumps to improve sheet formation and can also create watermarks in paper, by pressing onto newly formed fibres. If the roll has been produced with raised elements, those elements press into the fibres leaving an impression which, when the paper is formed, allows more light to be seen relative to the thicker background paper. This is a form of watermark, albeit only 2D.

The year in which a medal or coin was minted. On a banknote, the date is usually the year in which the issuance of that banknote – not its printing or entering into circulation – was formally authorised.

Fluorescent ink that is activated by visible light, instead of the more customary UV radiation.

Creating an image or text (such as expiry and batch data) which is sunk below the level of the surrounding substrate using a die plate or punch.

An umbrella term for the provision of financial applications that is achieved directly between two parties without the need for financial intermediaries, and that often uses technology based on distributed ledgers and ‘smart contracts’.

The conversion of a system of currency to units related by powers of 10.

A two-stage process in which metal, usually aluminium, is deposited onto a hologram or OVD and then selectively removed in order to create a design. The removal is achieved by either first printing a protective resin onto the metallic layer then dissolving away the unprotected metal, or ablating the metal with a laser beam. Used for security threads and foils in banknotes.

The act of stripping a currency unit of its status as legal tender. This occurs whenever there is a change of national currency. Sometimes, a country completely replaces the old currency with new currency.

The stated face value of a banknote or coin.

A hardened metal tool, the face of which carries an engraved design for cutting or shaping low-strength materials, such as fibre, foil, paper, plastics, pressure-sensitive labels and sheet metal. Dies are used to create coins from metal blanks.

The phenomenon whereby lightwaves are bent as a result of passing through small apertures or around small objects or lines whose dimensions are comparable to the light wavelength. Of particular interest are gratings (a pattern of such lines) because these have the ability to bend light of different wavelengths by different amounts. Hence, they produce a prismatic effect of splitting white light into the colours of the rainbow – a feature typical to most DOVIDs.

A collective term for images that display complex visual effects that change according to the viewing angle, based on the phenomenon of diffraction. These effects are varied and typically three-dimensional, kinetic (exhibiting movement), multichannel (where one image, or part of an image, changes into another) or animated (ie. stereograms). DOVIDs include holograms, Kinegrams and other diffractive features.

The reproduction (as in counterfeiting) of documents and packaging using digital reprographic technology.