A new fiver hits Aussie wallets

Today, a new-look, five-dollar note has entered circulation in Australia. It is the first time the Reserve Bank has issued a new note in 25 years. As ......... reports, the move is an attempt to beat counterfeiters, aiming to make the country's currency the most secure in the world.

$5note

Source: SBS

What can you buy for five dollars?

 "A coffee."

 "You can buy socks."

 "Chips. Small chips."

 In Sydney's central business district, fruit-stall retailer Tony Cockings says he sells most of his produce for five dollars.

 "Cash is drying up rapidly.  Card facilities, especially with the tap ... once again, that goes with the five and 50 cents: people aren't interested in change or getting change out, it's just quicker."

 Mr Cockings has to look out for a different-looking "five" from today.

 The Reserve Bank has printed 170 million new five-dollar notes, enough to replace the current ones already in circulation.

 But Reserve Bank assistant governor Michele  Bullock says not everyone will see them straightaway.

"Certainly, the old banknotes are still legal tender, and, as they come back to us in the normal course, we will destroy them in the normal course. But for the time being, everyone should feel confident that they are still secure."

 

Michele Bullock says the Queen remains on the new-look note and the colour scheme remains similar, but there are some key security features.

"The first is a clear, top-to-bottom window in the banknote, and in that window are a number of security features that, if people tilt the banknote in particular ways, they'll see animated features. They'll see a flapping bird. They'll see a number in the federation pavilion reversing. There is also a rolling colour effect in one corner of the banknote. If you tilt it, you'll see the colour change. And, finally, one I really love which is an oldie but a goodie, is the microprint on the banknote. And if you look on the Parliament House side and get your magnifying glass out, you'll see very tiny print, which is the words of the constitution in the steps of Parliament House and, also, in the branch the bird is standing on."

 

The assistant governor adds they are measures to keep the currency secure.

"Counterfeiting is quite low in Australia, but it's on the rise, and technology is starting to catch up. So what we're doing here is really taking the security of the banknotes to a new level, well ahead of the counterfeiters, to keep the currency very secure into the future."

For the vision-impaired, a tactile feature helps to tell the difference between notes.

While the popularity of card features, like tap-and-go, increases, Ms Bullock says the reality is cash is still in demand.

"If you go anywhere, you still see a lot of people using cash. Banknotes in circulation are still rising by about 6 per cent a year. So people are still using cash. Because they're using it, we want to make sure it is as secure as it can be for them."

 

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman says businesses need to make sure they are ready for the new-look, five-dollar note.

"For smaller retailers, it's about knowing the new notes are in circulation, informing their staff, making sure their staff don't knock it back or reject it on the day when it comes out. For bigger business, there is a whole raft of implementations. It may be around note-counting machines, note-weighing machines. Some retailers have safes that they actually put their money in and that actually counts the money and sends the information through to the bank. Those machines need to be re-calibrated."

 

The new notes are the first in a planned total refresh of Australia's banknote currency over the coming years.

 They will depict a different species of Australian wattle and native bird on each denomination.


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4 min read

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Updated

By Harita Mehta, Ricardo Goncalves




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