Makeover to modernise NZ banknotes will also keep forgers at bay

A NEW generation of New Zealand banknotes will be revealed this week but do not expect any changes to the flora, fauna and famous faces we are all used to.

The Reserve Bank has been working on a new design of banknotes since 2011, adding features to make them harder to counterfeit.

On Thursday afternoon, the new banknote designs will be un- veiled during a media lockup at the Reserve Bank before being added to circulation late next year.

While the designs will be updated, the themes will remain the same, with the same New Zealanders, flora and fauna remaining.

The notes will have a more modern look, larger print stating denominations and greater colour contrast between notes.

The process will cost the Reserve Bank an estimated $80 mil- lion and is the first change to New Zealand banknotes since 1999 when they went from being printed on paper made from cotton to polymer. The new notes will be the same size and denominations as the current series, and will continue to be made of flexible polymer substrate.

They will be printed at the Canadian Bank Note Company (CBNC) plant in Ottawa, Canada.

CBNC won the Reserve Bank tender to both design and print the new banknotes.

By global standards, New Zealand has low currency forgery rates but counterfeiting technology has improved, hence the strengthened security features.

Massey University banking expert David Tripe said having robust currency security measures was important even if forgery rates were low.

United States

notes were

par- ticularly easy to forge because of the ‘‘commonality of colours’’.

The new notes will be released progressively, starting in the fourth quarter of 2015.

New and old notes will cocirculate for a period of time and both sets will be legal tender.

Tripe said it was likely the rollout would take about a year, with the most common denominations of $5 and $20 being introduced first.