In the run up to the festive period, the Bank of England is encouraging retailers to check all banknotes and to ensure their employees are trained in how to identify genuine banknotes for counterfeits.
Counterfeit notes are a tiny proportion of the Bank of England notes in circulation; in the first half of this year, around 230,000 counterfeit notes were removed from circulation, relative to about three billion genuine notes in the system.
But the fact has stressed that counterfeit notes are worthless and so failing to spot one could cost a business money, and if it is accidentally passed on, potentially damage a retailer’s reputation.
With Christmas approaching, and with many busy retailers employing temporary staff, it is important to know how to use the security features found in current banknotes to make sure they are genuine:
– The watermark
– The holograms on the £5, £10 and £20 notes
– The metallic thread
– The feel of the paper and the raised print
– The motion thread on the £50 note.
Lucy Dennett, Bank of England’s Banknote Directorate said: “The chance of counterfeit notes being passed can increase in the Christmas period, when many retailers are busier and take on new staff. We are continually working to ensure our notes are secure and to help people understand how to check notes and what they should do if a counterfeit is discovered. But we also need the help of our partners, like the National Crime Agency, and most importantly businesses, to make sure that counterfeits continue to be very rare.”
