The Central Bank of Barbados is reminding retailers and the public to ensure the money they pay out and receive is genuine.
“Check your money,” Octavia Gibson, Deputy Director, Currency advised.
“The new notes we issued in June have more security features that make them more difficult to counterfeit convincingly and easier to authenticate. But there will always be unscrupulous individuals who will try, so people have to check.
“We encourage people to learn at least three security features that they can use in a matter of seconds.
Among those features:, she said, included two watermarks on the left of the note that become visible when the note is held up to the light. For each denomination, these watermarks are the person featured on the portrait and the note’s denomination.
Another is a security thread near the centre of the note. The thread initially appears as a series of bars printed from the top to the bottom of the paper, but when the note is held up to light it becomes an unbroken line that reads “CBB” and the note’s denomination. On the $2, $5, and $10, the bars are silver and wave-like, while on the $20, $50 and $100, the bars change colour from red to green when the note is tilted.
A holographic patch on the right of the $50 and $100 note. On the $50, the main image is the pelican, while on the $100 the main image is the heraldic dolphin.
When the note is tilted, that image, as well as the background images – broken tridents, Pride of Barbados flowers and the note’s denomination – appear and disappear and change colour.
Images that glow under UV light. Under UV light, the waves and broken trident in the centre of the note fluoresce. On the $2, $5, and $10, these glow in a shade of green, while on higher denominations, they glow in two colours: pink and green ($20), green and yellow ($50) and yellow and green ($100). Tiny fibres also fluoresce under UV light and the note’s denomination appears.
Gibson also reminded the public that although new notes have been issued, older notes are still in circulation. “Everyone can and should continue to accept all notes issued by the Central Bank of Barbados, so they should remain familiar with the security features on these notes,” she added. (CM/PR)