Coins
Sweden must ask fundamental questions on money – Ingves
Sveriges Riksbank governor Stefan Ingves says lawmakers must act to preserve the regulation of the payments system
Denmark selects Oberthur Fiduciaire as banknote supplier
The agreement will last four years, and the first notes printed by the firm are set to enter circulation in 2020
Seychelles’ rusty rupees to be replaced
Prolonged exposure to salt water has led to rust and erosion of previous series of coins, released in 2016; UK’s Royal Mint to produce new composite coins
Mauritius governor opens new currency museum named after first governor
Museum ‘Aunauth Beejadhur’ will exhibit Mauritian currency throughout the ages, with plans to expand scope to include financial literacy at a later date
Belgium’s mint to close in 2018
Coin production will be outsourced to save money, given decline in production, losing no jobs in the process, Mint official says
UK’s Royal Mint to supply 150 million Argentinian peso blanks
The UK’s Royal Mint will ship coins, along with equipment, to Argentinian mint, where engineers will help with the final design stamping
New coins to launch in Philippines in 2017, says deputy governor
Series will integrate new security features akin to those used in banknotes, but 10 cent will not be featured
Trinidad and Tobago scraps 1 cent coin
New coin composition and withdrawal of small denomination expected to save millions; new rounding system will see cash payments made easier
UK’s Royal Mint challenges coin-note boundary
Director for circulating coin claims new feature will allow the new £1 coin to challenge low-denomination banknotes in terms of security
UK launches new £1 coin
New £1 is the “world’s most secure coin”, mint claims, integrating new security features previously used solely for banknotes; businesses have until October 2017 to recalibrate machines
MAS considers revising limits on coin payments
Singapore central bank mulls blanket restriction of 10 coins per denomination in a single transaction; new arrangement would align the country with Norway and Switzerland
ECB reports 20.7% drop in number of counterfeits
Number of counterfeits ticked up in the second half of 2016, but annual figures are down; €50 note still dominates in terms of counterfeit volume, with new note to be released in April
Sama unveils new banknote designs with updated features
Six denominations to feature new security thread and improved features for the visually impaired; new coin design also launched by Saudi central bank
Bank of Korea embarks on ‘coinless society’ project
Central bank wants to eradicate use of coins by 2020; first stage of the project to use electronic travel passes to pay for goods and services
Seychelles issues first full banknote series in 18 years
The central bank spends around $2.6 million producing new series; SCR10 note transformed into coin in the new series, while the SCR500 note gets a facelift
Mark Carney: it would ‘make sense’ to get rid of UK penny
“What’s the point of the penny?” – children quiz BoE governor; Carney says as inflation rises, there might be reason to abolish the low-value coin
Sarb mulling changes to cash distribution process
South African Reserve Bank review finds ‘inefficiencies’ in current framework; changes could include alterations to the bank’s ‘branch footprint’ and supply chain
Sri Lanka invites bids to mint 970 million coins
Central bank calling for four denominations of coin to be minted by end-March 2019; looking for mints with experience of supplying foreign countries with circulation coins
Denmark outsources coin minting to Finland
Mint of Finland wins tender to produce krone coins, as National Bank of Denmark seeks to cut costs by closing down its coin and banknote operations
National Bank of Angola opens currency museum
The museum receives 2,000 visitors in its first four days; exhibits the history of the currency, from sea shells to today's banknote series
UK mint starts production of ‘ground-breaking’ pound coins
Elements from the emblems of all four UK nations will feature on reverse of the coin; details of certain counterfeiting features revealed
RBA’s Richards sees possibility for digital Australian dollar
New card regulation to be ready by May, says Richards; digital currency a possibility in the ‘more distant future’, but RBA not ‘actively considering’ it
Argentina to issue three new banknote denominations
Top-value 100-peso note to be eclipsed by new currency; 200- and 500-peso notes will launch in first half of 2016, with 1000 peso note following in 2017
Riksbank launches app as drive to publicise new notes and coins accelerates
Central bank’s first smartphone app helps public identify counterfeit banknotes and features voice-over by Stefan Ingves; part of communications push ahead of new banknote and coin series