US Company Develops New Technique to Detect Counterfeit Banknotes

A US company has developed a new technique that allows the general public to detect counterfeit banknotes.

Studies say that during a typical cash transaction, people glance at banknotes for about a second. The US-based company Crane Currency has created a specially-designed micro-optic lens that focuses on an icon or image underneath; the technology makes an image appear in 3-D and animates it as the note is moved around.

According to the Tech Xplore website, Crane Currency has designed a number of banknotes incorporating 3-D micro-optic security features, including currency in Uzbekistan and an award-winning note in circulation on the Caribbean island of Aruba.

These have been in circulation for about a year and this study is the first to confirm the reliability of the new security feature from a user point of view, reported the German news agency (dpa).

The Tech Xplore website cited Jane Raymond, professor of Visual Cognition at the University of Birmingham, as saying: "Most people trust their banknotes, are usually in a hurry, and often handle cash in places where the lighting is bad. So, in many situations, it's not so hard to miss a fake banknote."

"Security features need to give people fast, easy-to-see signals that work under all sorts of lighting conditions," she added.