Canada enters the polymer age

High-tech plastic $100 bills enter circulation

By Bret Evans

The Bank of Canada has begun circulating Canada's first "plastic banknote," a new $100 bill.

Officially launched Nov 14, the note was expected to be available at all financial institutions by the end of the month.

Like previous $100 notes, the front of the new bill features a portrait of Robert Borden, prime minister of Canada between 1911 and 1920. The back celebrates Canada's contributions to innovation in the field of medicine. It was officially released into circulation by Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney at an event in Toronto at the MaRS Centre - a hub for public-private sector innovation and collaboration between the business and scientific communities.

Carney was joined at the event by Ilse Treurnicht, chief executive of MaRS Discovery District.

Treurnicht discussed the importance of creating an environment that encourages and supports innovation in fields such as health care and life sciences.

"Such an environment spurs the development of Canadian expertise and sets the stage for Canadian companies to lead the way," she said. "These companies will, in turn, develop new ideas and technologies that return significant economic and social benefits, not only to Canadians but, through global partnerships, to the world."

Remarking that the new polymer banknotes are themselves the product of Canadian ingenuity, combined with innovative technologies from around the globe, Carney said the $100 bill is an important step toward significantly increasing the security of Canada's banknotes.

"Just as the images on this note depict Canadian achievements at the frontier of medicine, the advanced security features embedded in these new polymer bills are at the frontier of banknote technology," Carney said. "This will protect Canadians against tomorrow's counterfeiting threats. As well, these new notes will last at least two-and-a-half times longer than paper notes and will be recycled, saving money and being better for the environment.

"Safer, cheaper and greener: these new banknotes are a 21st-century achievement in which all Canadians can take pride and place their confidence," he concluded.

The new polymer banknotes, among the most advanced in the world, contain leading-edge security features that make them difficult to counterfeit but easy to verify. For example, a large transparent area extends from the top to the bottom of the note and contains complex holographic features that can be viewed from both sides. The images on the foil, placed in window, are large, brilliant and complex, and the details and colours can be seen clearly from both sides of the note. A second, smaller window contains a frosted area that, when viewed against a single-point light source, shows a circle of numbers matching the note's value.

The new notes also carry features designed to be seen only by note-handling equipment to ensure that the machines can authenticate the notes.

The banknotes also have a number of features to assist the blind and partially sighted. A tactile feature in the top left corner consists of a symbol of six raised dots. Commonly mistaken for Braille, it is actually a system developed for Canadian notes. The $5 will have one symbol, the $10 two symbols, the $20 three symbols, the $50 four symbols, and the $100 two symbols separated by a wide smooth surface.

Other features include large, high-contrast numerals.

The notes can also be read on a banknote-reading machine. Unlike the Canadian Journey notes, which could only be read from one end, the polymer notes can be read from both ends.

Since unveiling the polymer banknote series in June 2011, the Bank of Canada has been working closely with financial institutions and the manufacturers of banknote equipment to support a smooth transition to the new notes. Through its regional offices across the country, the bank has also been working with law enforcement and retailers to ensure that front-line police officers and cash handlers are familiar with the new security features and to encourage the regular authentication of banknotes.

The $50 note, which was also unveiled in June, will be issued in March 2012. The $20Ênote will begin circulating in late 2012, followed by the $10 and $5 notes by the end of 2013. Detailed images of the notes and information on their designs will be released on their official unveiling dates.

December 20, 2011 to January 2, 2012 issue of Canadian Coin News