Business & Technology
How banknotes pack more security technology than most people imagine
GIESECKE+DEVRIENT (G+D)
SecurityTech Company
A banknote and a smartphone have more in common than you might think: both fit in a pocket, both get handled millions of times a day, and both are, in their own way, remarkably sophisticated pieces of technology. The difference is in what happens when threats evolve. Smartphones get updates. Banknotes don’t. They have to get it right from the start, and keep getting it right for years, across every climate, every cash register, and every automated sorting machine on the planet. That makes the underlying security architecture all the more impressive. SecurityTech company Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) breaks down five technology layers that turn an everyday banknote into a compact high-security system.
1. Material Technology: Security You Can Feel
Banknote security doesn’t begin at the printing press, instead it begins with the substrate. The material a note is made from largely determines how durable, functional, and ultimately how tamper-resistant it can be. Modern banknotes are built on specially engineered cotton fibers, or hybrid constructions that combine cotton and polymer. These aren’t chosen for feel alone, though the characteristic texture of a cotton-based note is itself a first-line authentication tool, one most people use intuitively without realizing it. More importantly, many security features aren’t applied on top of the material; they’re embedded within it. That makes them structurally inseparable from the note, and a serious obstacle for anyone trying to replicate it.
2. Micromirror Technology: Light as a Verification Tool
Tilt a banknote and something shifts: colors change, and elements appear to float or move. These aren’t printing tricks, they’re the result of precisely engineered microstructures that control how light behaves at the surface. Among the most advanced developments in this field are micromirrors combined with nanostructures, at a scale almost impossible to visualize: up to one million of these micromirrors can fit on a single thumbnail. Aligned with nanometer precision, they reflect light to produce a clearly recognizable image, even in poor lighting. The effect is entirely physical, not digital, and it cannot be reproduced without highly specialized manufacturing equipment. No inkjet printer in the world comes close.
3. Sensor Technology: What Only Machines Can Detect
Most banknotes today are never verified by a human eye. They pass through ATMs, counting machines, and high-speed sorting systems that authenticate them in fractions of a second. This is made possible by features that are entirely invisible under normal conditions, such as elements that react to UV light, or carry characteristics readable only by dedicated sensors. This machine-readable layer largely operates in the background of everyday life. For the cash cycle, it’s essential. For counterfeiters, it’s one of the hardest barriers to crack, precisely because you can’t see what you’re trying to replicate.
4. Colour Technology: Pigments with Security Functions
The color design of banknotes serves purposes far beyond aesthetics. Special optically variable inks (OVIs) and iridescent features create effects that shift, disappear, or change color depending on the viewing angle, while others only become visible under specific light spectra or defined conditions. The color-shifting effect follows the same physics as the rainbow shimmer of oil on water, but applied with far greater precision. Layer thickness is calibrated at the nanometer level to determine exactly which frequencies of light are reflected. Even if a counterfeiter managed to reproduce the visual design, they would still be missing the underlying physical mechanism that makes it work.
5. Forensics: The Banknote’s Hidden Signature
The so-called Level 3 security layer is invisible, machine-readable, and embedded deep within the note. It can only be detected with specialized sensor technology, and it allows every individual banknote to be authenticated with high precision throughout the entire cash cycle. For counterfeiters, this layer is essentially inaccessible. Without the corresponding verification technology and system expertise, the hidden signatures can neither be identified nor replicated. It’s security through obscurity in the most literal sense: if you can’t find it, you can’t fake it.
“Security features on banknotes must be extremely difficult to manufacture, while their effects must remain easy to recognize,” says Dr. Manfred Heim, Managing Director of G+D subsidiary Papierfabrik Louisenthal, responsible for Research & Development, Technology and Operations. “They are designed to withstand years of intensive use under highly diverse conditions, from physical wear to fully automated cash-handling processes. Modern security concepts don’t rely on any single feature. They work through multiple independent verification layers that combine physical robustness, machine authentication, and long-term stability.”
Celebrating both GCSE and A-Level Results Days, the chain will offer the popular dish to students who buy one of its bubble teas.
The free offer is available at all 42 Rosa’s Thai restaurants across England and Wales.
To avail of the free noodles, students need to register on Rosa’s Thai website for a unique code, which they should present at the restaurant together with a copy of their results.
Rosa’s Thai has a new range of bubble tea flavours, including Ube-Taro, Matcha-Coconut, Mango Sticky Rice, and Milo Chocolate Milk, as well as favourites like Home-brewed Thai Tea with Tapioca, and Lychee Mango with mango boba.
Students can sign up for their free Pad Thai at rosasthai.com/result-day-free-pad-thai and find their nearest restaurant at rosasthai.com/locations.
The London Mint Office, which distributes commemorative coins and medals, appointed administrators on July 31 after 20 years in business.
The company’s website now displays a message confirming the appointment of Michael Magnay and Jonny Marston of Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP as joint administrators.
A spokesman for Alvarez and Marsal said: “On July 31 2026, Michael Magnay and Jonny Marston of Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP were appointed as Joint Administrators of The London Mint Office Limited in administration (the “Company”).
“Regrettably, the Company’s liquidity challenges have led to a number of immediate redundancies. We are supporting the affected employees through the redundancy process.
What Happens When a Company Goes Into Administration?
“The affairs, business and property of the Company are being managed by the Joint Administrators who act as agents of the Company and without personal liability.”
The announcement confirms that it is no longer possible to purchase coins or medals through the company’s website.
The London Mint Office operates a distribution centre in Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, where it employs a significant number of people.
Administration is a formal insolvency process triggered when a business cannot meet its financial obligations.
An insolvency practitioner is appointed to manage the company’s affairs and may attempt to restructure the business or sell off assets to repay creditors.
What happens when a company goes into Liquidation?
Founded in 2006, The London Mint Office describes itself as “one of the UK’s most trusted suppliers of historic, commemorative, and collector coins.”
It is part of Samlerhuset AS, a Norwegian company based near Oslo and one of Europe’s largest distributors of commemorative coins and medals.
Samlerhuset’s website states that it offers “provide a wide range of coins from ancient to modern, originating from virtually every country in the world.”
The London Mint Office has advised anyone with an interest in the company’s assets to contact the administrators at INS_THLMOL@alvarezandmarsal.com.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally decided that both discounters should be added to the Groceries Market Investigation (Controlled Land) Order 2010, which currently applies to Asda, Co-op, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose.
This order is designed to prevent large grocery retailers from using land agreements to block competitors from opening nearby stores, often through restrictive covenants or exclusivity terms.
Juliette Enser, executive director of competition enforcement and markets at the CMA, said: “We want everyone to have the best choice of supermarket and range of prices when buying their groceries.
“To ensure this happens, we put rules in place to prevent big supermarket chains blocking rival stores from opening nearby – and now we propose applying those rules to Aldi and Lidl too.
“This is about allowing shoppers to choose where they spend their money and levelling the playing field for all major supermarkets.
“Today’s proposals are provisional and we welcome views before deciding the best way forward.”
The CMA’s review found that Aldi, Lidl GB, and Lidl NI now meet the criteria of ‘Large Grocery Retailers’ (LGRs) due to their store footprint, nationwide presence, procurement model, and the breadth of their grocery range.
Aldi and Lidl were originally excluded from the 2010 order as ‘limited assortment discounters’, offering a smaller selection of products compared to traditional supermarkets.
However, the CMA’s provisional findings indicate that this is no longer the case.
All three now operate large grocery stores, each with more than 1,000 square metres of shop floor space, and offer a full range of products, though with less category choice than some competitors.
They also purchase goods directly from suppliers through integrated wholesaling.
With the UK grocery market estimated to be worth £215 billion, Aldi and Lidl are now ranked among the top five retailers by market share.
The CMA is seeking feedback from stakeholders before reaching a final decision.
Aldi and Lidl could join the other supermarket chains later this year.
The CMA is inviting views until 5pm on Monday, September 7, 2026, and will issue its final decision in the autumn after reviewing responses.
If the discounters are included under the order, they will be prevented from using land agreements to limit competition from other supermarket chains.
The CMA aims to ensure competition across the grocery sector to give shoppers more choice and competitive pricing by removing obstacles to new store openings.
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