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Next generation of Canadian bills rolling out Thandie Vela Northern News Services Published Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The new notes are the same size and colour as the current series of money, with new features including a window area, metallic images inside the window, and most importantly, a polymer substrate - which is expected to make counterfeiting more difficult. Merchants have been pleased with the simplified counterfeit-detection the new bills offer, including downtown Reddi-Mart employee Nars Dapilos, who was caught by surprise by the new material. "It looks not real," Dapilos said, holding the new $100 note up to the light, inspecting it. "It looks good." Polymer, which is used for currency in more than 25 countries around the world including Australia, Mexico and Hong Kong, is only available to central banks, not commercially. "This is now what we consider to be very safe and secure, using the most leading-edge technology," Bank of Canada senior analyst Michelle Witkowski said. "(Polymer) is very secure, it's durable, and environmentally friendly." The new $100 bills will become legal tender later this month, with the $50 bill being issued starting March 2012, and the remaining denominations to be issued by the end of 2013. Law enforcement participated in the development of the new notes, RCMP North West region counterfeit co-ordinator Sgt. Glen Demmon said. "Anything that will help make it more difficult for people to make counterfeit is definitely in favour of law enforcement," Demmon said, noting the main recommendation from law enforcement was to make the note simple, so it is easy to check. "Anything that makes it easier to use, easier to recognize, and difficult to counterfeit." As a result, the new notes have fewer security features than the current series, with features such as the water mark and ultraviolet features not included in the new series. Dapilos said his store has not had any major problem with counterfeit notes, a trend being seen across the country, as counterfeiting has been seeing a downward trend. "Right now, we are seeing a downward trend. It is low in counterfeiting but we never know when the next attack (will be) or if a spike is going to happen again so we want to stay ahead," Witkowski said, noting the bank periodically changes the money. "We want to stay proactive." Leading up to the last major change to Canadian currency in 2004, when the holographic strip was introduced, counterfeiting in Canada had increased to a historic peak of 470 counterfeit notes detected per one million notes in circulation, the bank said. The most recent data estimates about 35 counterfeit notes detected per million notes. At a production rate of 19 cents a note, compared to the previous 9.5 cents a note, the new notes are pricier, but last two and a half times longer, Witkowski said, estimating the notes will last in the 15 to 20 year range, as opposed to the seven-year life of the cotton substrate notes. In addition, where the previous bills are shredded and taken to a landfill, the new notes will be recycled. "So there's an environmentally-friendly component to this," she said. Retailers and the general public are encouraged to learn the security features from the bank's website, and instructional YouTube videos the bank has loaded online. The bank is relying on banks across the country to remove the paper money, which it hopes to eventually have fully phased out.
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