Glossary

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 technique that uses computational methods to calculate the interference pattern that would have been created by a reference beam interfering with an object beam. The pattern is printed onto a mask or film to be viewed using illumination from a suitable light source.

The representation of several element strings in one barcode.

Consensus is required for updates or transactions on blockchains. It refers to the need to validate new data before writing updates of information to the blockchain. Similar to the term ‘blockchain’, there are different types of consensus mechanisms. Early crypto consensus required agreement by the majority of relevant actors on the blockchain as to the status of the ledger, whereas more recent versions of blockchain use distributed consensus mechanisms, relying on a fewer number of nodes required for establishing consensus.

A digital printing technique in which a continuous fine stream of electricity charged ink is formed and diverted onto the substrate as needed to form the printed image. Unused ink is collected and reused.

A packaging supplier who converts raw materials (paper, carton, board, aluminium foil etc.) into finished packaging components. The term is often used as a loose synonym for a packaging printer and the two functions are often combined into the same supplier.

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 means by which the identity of a person is authenticated in a trust framework. The credential may be physical (a document), digital (a password) or virtual (a string of digits).

A digital representation of value or contractual rights, using some form of distributed ledger technology, which can be transferred, stored or traded electronically using cryptography. Cryptoassets are said to be decentralised since the issuance and transfer of the currency is not controlled by any central bank or other actor. Examples of cryptoassets include NFTs and cryptocurrencies.

Any person whose occupation or business is the provision of one or more cryptoasset services to third parties on a professional basis. Cryptoasset services include the provision of an exchange, including automated processes, enabling the exchange of cryptoassets for money, or of one cryptoasset for another cryptoasset. A CASP also offers custodian services, eg. through the provision of a custodial wallet to hold the cryptocurrencies.

A subset of asset-referenced tokens which reference their value in relation to other cryptoassets.

A number generated by an algorithm which is then recorded in a distributed ledger linked to a digital key held by the owner. Cryptocurrencies are not issued by a government and are not backed by assets. Their value lies in their scarcity, with a limit on the quantity created.

A place where cryptocurrencies are bought and sold.

A method of protecting information and communications through the use of codes.

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

The use of a non-standard system of bars and spaces to encode data.

Crime committed to steal or defraud people of electronic money, or crypto-assets, online.

Protecting data and communications against attacks from (amongst other things) malware, denial of service and phishing attacks.

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.

In the context of track and trace, usually refers to a barcode (primarily 2D), or a microchip carrying track and trace data in a machine-readable format.

A 2D code consisting of black and white cells or dots arranged in a square or rectangular pattern, also known as a matrix. The information to be encoded can be text or numeric data. Usual data size is from a few bytes up to 1556 bytes.

The information page in a passport containing photo and personal details such as name, date of birth, nationality and sex.

A database used to store track and trace data, for example.

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 image or print that can be moved from one surface onto another, usually with the aid of heat or water.

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’.

A ledger system, recording transactions and holdings, which is held in multiple places and simultaneously updated. See Distributed ledger technology for a description of the technical infrastructure on which distributed ledger systems can be based.

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

The translation of a code into a format that is more generally understood.

The process of converting encrypted data back to its original form, often with the use of a covert key or password.

Synthetic media that have been digitally manipulated to replace one person’s likeness with that of another. Can also refer to computer-generated images of human subjects that do not exist in real life. 

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 chemical-gelatin mix that produces very bright images in a golden-yellow colour. The images have limited depth but can be viewed in extended light sources of poor quality. See also Volume hologram.

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.

A permissioned blockchain-based payment system proposed by the American social media company Facebook, Inc. The plan also includes a private currency implemented as a cryptocurrency. Originally called Libra.

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.

The storage, transmission, manipulation and reproduction of data, images, sounds, etc., by a process that uses groups of electronic bits represented as 1 or 0.

Anything that exists in binary data which is self-contained, uniquely identifiable, and has a value or right to use. Data that do not possess that right are not considered assets.

Name of China’s CBDC. See also e-yuan/e-CNY.