Best in Design and Innovation in EMEA Recognised at 2025 Banknote and ID Document Awards
The Regional Banknote and ID Document of the Year Awards form part of the industry’s High Security Printing (HSP) EMEA conference. This year’s event was held in Basel, Switzerland, with the awards presented at a special ceremony during the conference dinner on 4 February 2025.
Awards were made for three categories in the Regional Banknote of the Year section this year –Best New Banknote, Best New Banknote Series and Best New Commemorative Banknote, with the UAE, Kenya and Eswatini all receiving recognition.
In an additional category, held for the first time last year, there were also awards for the Best New House Note – with Hueck Folien, the Printing Works of the Bulgarian National Bank and Oberthur Fiduciaire sharing the honours.
For the ID awards, there are also three categories – Best New Passport, Best New National ID Card and Best New Series. This year, the UAE, Bulgaria, Finland and the Netherlands were all winners, two of them joint.
Best New Banknote
The 500 dirham (AED) banknote from the Central Bank of the UAE was the winner of the Best New Banknote Award.
This polymer-based banknote, the fifth in the UAE’s new all-polymer series, was printed on De La Rue’s SAFEGUARD® substrate by Oumolat, and showcases the UAE’s vision of leadership in climate protection and building a sustainable future. It also highlights the UAE’s culture and tourism landmarks. Main motifs that convey these messages are the Terra Sustainability Pavilion in Expo City Dubai, the Museum of the Future in Dubai or the iconic Emirates Towers and Burj Khalifa.
Advanced security features include a multi-coloured, registered KINEGRAM COLORS® stripe from KURZ, which is applied over a large window in the polymer substrate and a second window with a portrait of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan. A similar stripe featured on the AED 1,000, which was issued in 2022 and won the Best New Banknote Award in 2023.
Best New Series
The award for the Best New Series went to the Central Bank of Kenya which, in August 2024, released an updated series of the Kenyan shilling (KES), having taken steps to guarantee security of supply by procuring the new banknotes from Giesecke + Devrient.
The full series comprises KES 1,000, 500, 200, 100 and 50 banknotes, with the same design as the notes they replace but with enhanced security in the form of Louisenthal’s RollingStar® i+ thread on each of the denominations. The three higher denominations – the KES 1000, 500 and 200 – utilise the ZigZag dynamic movement effect, while the two lower denominations – the KES 100 and 50 – utilise the Crystal effect.
Additionally, the banknotes feature the use of iridescent bands with UV for each of the denominations, while dual colour fluorescence is also maintained as a secondary level security element against counterfeiting.
Best New Commemorative Banknote
The Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) commemorated its Golden Jubilee last year with the issue of a 50 emalangeni ‘Green Banknote’. The new note was launched by HM King Mswati III, whose portrait appears on the note, as it does on all the country’s notes.
The new note is similar to the circulating version issued in 2018 but features a magenta-to-green RollingStar® i+ thread from Louisenthal on the front, along with a RollingStar Patch with a special flip effect in colours that match the thread, replacing the green shield and spears on the circulating version.
A new image of the country’s international airport features on the reverse (replacing the central bank headquarters on the 2018 note), along with images of Sibebe Rock (one of the largest and oldest granite rocks in the world and Eswatini’s foremost tourist attraction) and icons depicting technological progress.
The Bank selected a Green Banknote as a sustainable solution that reduces the environmental impact of currency production. At the heart of the banknote is a blend of organic cotton and certified cellulose from sustainable forestry. Coincidently, support for sustainable cotton cultivation in Africa is provided through Louisenthal’s partnership with Cotton made in Africa (CmiA).
The Golden Jubilee celebrations where the note was launched were held at the CBE’s new Green Headquarters, which are currently under construction. According to the CBE, both the green banknote and the new green building align with its strategic initiative of ‘Greening the Central Bank.’
Best New House Note
Competition was intense in this category, with a record number of nominations. There were three winners in total, two jointly for the Best New House Note and one for the Best New House Note Series.
One of the joint winners was the Ocean Dollar, created by Hueck Folien to demonstrate its eco-friendly commitment and credentials. Inspired by the hidden depths of the ocean, the note includes a number of recycled components, including aluminium, paper and PET.
The micro-optics Optomove® security thread is made from recycled PET and aluminium, achieving 53% CO2 savings through the raw material used. The Reef foil stripe, featuring optical nanostructures and Trilumic®, is also made from recycled PET and aluminium, achieving 26% CO2 savings .
The substrate, EcoBreath® paper, was developed by BP Security in partnership with Casa da Moeda do Brasil, and allows the recovery and reuse of fibres from banknote waste to produce recycled security papers for banknotes and passports,
The second joint winner was the Printing Works of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) Corp, which produced its first ever house note to celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2024.
The intricately designed and highly complex note is broadly themed on butterflies and maths. The front features a portrait of Edward Lorenz – mathematician and meteorologist – who discovered chaos theory and whose description of the Butterfly Effect (the idea that small changes can have large consequences) provides the accompany visual graphics. The reverse continues this narrative with graphic elements of a butterfly in flight.
The production of the note involved dry and wet offset, intaglio and screen printing, with a diffractive stripe from Demax featuring 3D and bas relief effects, a , positive/ negative e-motion effect, an achromatic micro engraved portrait, micro- and nano-engineered images and registered demetallisation.
Best New House Note Series
Lepidoptery was also the theme of the final, additional house note award – this time for a series, which was made to Oberthur Fiduciaire for ‘The Art of Butterflies’.
The theme was chosen as it symbolises the spirit of Jean-Pierre Savare, who took over the company 40 years ago and transformed it into the successful group it is today. The butterflies represented are five species from the famous collection of François-Charles Oberthur that can be seen in the British Museum in London.
The five notes were printed in one sheet with five different designs and five different security threads, among them Anima, Pulsar and Relief, to produce a highly attractive and technically sophisticated set.
Best New Passport
The Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP) won the award for the newly redesigned Emirati passport, which showcases the UAE’s commitment to embracing cutting-edge advances in travel documentation.
One of the standout features of the new passport is its hologram logo, integrated with advanced security features. This logo adds a dynamic and visually striking element to the datapage , offering a sophisticated layer of protection against counterfeiting.
Another key security enhancement is the high-precision security thread embedded within the passport, which strengthens its overall protection by serving as a deterrent to anyone attempting to tamper with or forge the document. Additionally, the passport incorporates 3D intaglio printing showing the holder’s date of birth.
A transparent window on the passport displays the UAE state emblem, surrounded by intricate artistic elements that both reflect the nation’s identity and provides an additional layer of security.
The photograph of the passport holder is printed using laser technology, incorporating high-security characteristics that safeguard against any attempts to alter or counterfeit the image.
The UAE’s commitment to digital transformation is also evident in the streamlined process for passport issuance and renewal. According to the World Competitiveness Report 2023, the UAE has achieved the remarkable feat of being the fastest country to issue passports, with a processing time of just 8 minutes and 24 seconds!
Best New National ID Card
The winner of the Best New National ID Card award was the Bulgarian Ministry of Interior for Bulgaria’s National eID Card, launched in June 2024. This innovative identity document, developed by a Bulgarian team with over 25 years of experience, combines advanced biometric technology, cutting-edge security features, and a forward-thinking design approach.
The polycarbonate card incorporates a contactless biometric chip that securely stores encrypted personal data, including fingerprints and a digital photograph, ensuring identity verification in compliance with GDPR standards.
It features OVD KINEGRAM’s Full Data Protection technology, which offers full-surface optical protection for both the cardholder’s photograph and personalised data.
Other anti-fraud measures include laser-perforated images and laser-engraved personalised information within metallised optically variable elements. Additionally, the encrypted primary photo can be verified using mobile devices through the innovative E-IPI system, enabling fast and secure authentication.
Best New ID and Travel Document Series
The Finnish Transport and Communication Agency (Traficom) was joint winner of the Best New Series with its redesign of licences, permits and registrations across Finland.
The ambitious project, which was started in 2022, was aimed at updating 21 card designs, including the Finnish driving licence, to upgrade security features, ensure compliance with European Union standards, and improve user-friendliness. Traficom’s vision was to modernise and secure its suite of identification documents.
Working in collaboration with CardPlus Group, a Finnish identity solution provider, Toppan Security delivered the project through a series of interactive workshops. The redesigned driving licence has become the centrepiece of the series, featuring advanced security measures such as two strategically placed transparent windows.
This new series also includes tachograph cards, aircrew identification, and various other licences, each designed to meet the highest standards of durability, security, and ease of use.
Henna Antila, Head of Driving Licences at Traficom, remarked: ‘the design process was incredibly interactive, and the designers brought fresh and innovative ideas that exceeded expectations.’
The second winner in this category was the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations for thenew Dutch ePassport and eID card, launched in September 2024.
The ePassport and eID card are the first Dutch identity documents to feature LASINK™ Helios, a cutting-edge, full-colour secondary portrait embedded within a DOVID. The colour portrait and optical effects of LASINK™ Helios make authentication more secure and accessible, allowing both trained agents and untrained individuals to easily verify identities with confidence.
In addition to their advanced security features, these documents embody a strong commitment to inclusivity. Both the ePassport and eID card incorporate tactile elements specifically designed to assist visually impaired individuals, enabling them to independently identify their documents with ease. This integration of accessibility measures reflects the Ministry’s dedication to ensuring that identity documents serve all citizens equally.
Further innovation is evident in the design of the ePassport, which now includes a third portrait on page three, creating a secure link between the datapage and page three to provide an additional layer of security and fraud prevention.
