The High Security Printing (HSP) EMEA Awards continue to be the region’s premier platform recognising excellence in banknote and ID design and innovation. This year’s awards took place on 10 February in Rabat, Morocco. In our last edition, we covered the ID awards; now we focus on the best innovation in banknotes.
This year’s banknote awards included several categories: Best New Banknote, Best New Series, Best New Commemorative Banknote, Best New House Note, and the newly introduced Best New Process or Technology. The winners show the industry’s ongoing focus on durability, advanced optical security and creative design.
The Central Bank of Libya won Best New Banknote for its new 20 dinar polymer note. The Bank’s ongoing programme converts the 2013 banknote series to polymer substrates, improving durability and resistance to wear.
De La Rue designed and printed this note using its SAFEGUARD polymer substrate. Security elements feature Enhanced GEMINI™ microtext, a holographic registered stripe, dual clear windows and SICPA’s SPARK® optically variable magnetic ink (OVMI).
Two central banks shared the Best New Series award. The Bank of Namibia was recognised for its redesigned Namibian dollar series, issued under the theme ‘Our Currency, Our Heritage, Our Pride – Meet the Next Generation of the Namibian Dollar’. The updated series keeps familiar motifs while introducing richer colours, refined graphics and upgraded security features.
De La Rue designed and produced the notes. Landqart supplied the Durasafe composite substrate for lower denominations, while cotton paper was used for the higher denominations.
The Bank of Zambia also won for its new Heritage Series of kwacha banknotes. The series highlights Zambia’s flora and fauna and introduces higher denominations to support transaction efficiency.
Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions (KBBS) provided design consultancy. Giesecke+Devrient and Crane Currency shared production. The notes feature Galaxy®, RollingStar®i+ and RAPID® threads, and SPARK® Flow Prime ink as security features.
Bank Al-Maghrib won the commemorative category for its 100 dirham note commemorating the 35th Africa Cup of Nations football tournament in Rabat.
Produced by the Bank’s printing works, Dar As-Sikkah, the note celebrates Morocco’s investment in sports infrastructure. Security features include a registered Galaxy® gold-to-green colour-shifting thread supplied by Louisenthal.
Two organisations shared this category.
Polish Security Printing Works received recognition for its MEADOW house note. The design shows a layered summer meadow ecosystem, from sky to underground life. The note uses an environmentally conscious substrate made from cotton and hemp fibres sourced in Europe.
A vertical windowed thread with KINEGRAM COLOR from LEONHARD KURZ provides a striking optical feature across multiple windows.
KURZ also received the award for its Tree of Life house note series, created to celebrate 30 years of production at its Sulzbach-Rosenberg facility. The notes symbolise Day, Dusk and Night and include advanced optical security features such as KINEGRAM ZERO.ZERO®, HDM stripes and COSMIC effects (see also HOTN October 2025).
The inaugural award for technology innovation went to KBBS for its Nota-Live 3D simulation technology.
Developed with Fathom Optics, the software enables real-time 3D simulation of banknote and security document designs. It reproduces optically variable effects, allowing designers and central banks to preview complex security features before production (see also HN September 2022).
Together, the award winners show how modern banknotes combine advanced materials, optical technologies and creative design to deliver security and visual appeal.
Full descriptions of each of the award winners can be found at https://reconnaissance.net/design-and-innovation-in-banknotes-and-id-recognised-at-hsp-emea-2026/
