IN Groupe has announced Vibes Shift™, developed by its subsidiary SURYS, which it acquired in 2019 and specialises in optical and digital security solutions. Vibes Shift is an extension of Vibes, which launched in 2023. It offers a striking security feature that meets central bank requirements in combining moving effects, brilliancy, colours adapted to the banknote design and all the other attributes required for a security thread.

Counterfeiters are no longer limited to simple print-and-overlay methods to create counterfeit security features. While document issuers have strengthened physical security using polycarbonate data pages and laser engraving, optical security features must also evolve. They can no longer rely solely on visual appeal; they must be inherently difficult to analyse, replicate, or reverse-engineer.

Giesecke+Devrient has introduced TwinColors® Patch as latest innovation in banknote security, elevating micromirror-based optical features to what it terms a new level of sophistication.

Oberthur unveiled two major additions to its Anima™ micro-optics platform – Anima™ Sign and Anima™ Colour at the recent Global Currency Forum. Both innovations highlighted advances in machine readability and colour versatility, two increasingly important elements in next-generation banknote security, in addition to the integration of all the effects already available in Anima™.

De La Rue has introduced OPTILIGHT™, a next-generation optical security platform for banknotes, following significant investment in innovation and technology. OPTILIGHT combines nano-science, custom built imaging equipment, proprietary algorithms, and utilises their decades of accumulated experience in the field to deliver intuitive optical effects for public authentication.

Around the world, 166 issuing authorities circulate 1,007 banknote denominations in regular use, excluding commemoratives. According to data from the Reconnaissance DataVault, Asia leads the global charts with 314 active denominations, reflecting the region’s scale, diversity, and rapid monetary development.

Crane Currency has added yet another iteration of its micro- optics technology to its portfolio of security features – cBREEZE™. Engineered for high volume, lower value notes, it is designed with durability and cost-efficiency in mind, bringing the same visual dynamism and security as its sibling technology RAPID® HD, but in a simplified, more accessible and lower cost form.

The presentation at the recent HSP Latin America in Rio de Janeiro by Ian Brigham of Spectra Systems covered the new house note that has been produced by Casa da Moeda do Brasil on its Fusion™ polymer substrate. The ‘Boa Sorte’ note incorporates a level 3 taggant unique to Fusion as well as, for the first time, a new level 1 optical security feature from Oberthur – Kryptonome™.

The Uttarakhand State Excise Department, located in northern India, has enhanced its tax stamps by incorporating optical security features.

As the authentication and print finishing industries evolve, innovation requires recognition to succeed. Awards celebrate achievements and highlight the collaborations, materials, and technologies that shape the future of visual and physical security. Time to remind you of a few upcoming ones.