News & Events

JUNE 6, 2017 Mt. Prospect, IL— From fake dollars and pounds, to false pesos and euros and bogus rupees and yuan, the threat of counterfeit currency spans the globe. Advances in scanning and printing technology have made it easier than ever for counterfeiters to stay in business.

Cummins Allison, the leading innovator and provider of check, currency and coin handling solutions, as well as ATMs, examines the seven most commonly counterfeited currencies, and shares insights on how cash-intensive businesses can protect themselves from counterfeit losses.

In a World of Counterfeits, The 20s Have It

According to Marketplace,¹ the most commonly counterfeited denominations are 20s; however, other bills and coins are also frequently targeted. Here’s a look at the seven most commonly counterfeited currencies across the globe:

United States Dollars: The $20 bill is the most commonly counterfeited banknote in the U.S., while overseas, counterfeiters prefer to make fake $100 bills. In 2015, the Secret Service suppressed 145 counterfeit manufacturing plants, arrested 796 criminals and seized $58 million in counterfeit currency.¹

UK Banknotes & Coins: Figures from the Royal Mint indicate that over 85 percent of the 347,000 counterfeit banknotes taken out of circulation in 2016 were 20 pound bills. Counterfeiters have also homed in on coins, with the Royal Mint estimating that 2.5 percent of 1.6 billion 1 pound pre-2017 design coins are fake.²

Euro Banknotes: The European Central Bank states that 20 euro and 50 euro banknotes are the most likely to be counterfeited. In the last six months of 2016 alone, fake 20 euro bills accounted for almost 37 percent and fake 50s accounted for over 42 percent of counterfeit bills confiscated.³

Mexican Pesos: The Bank of Mexico estimates that 71 banknotes out of every million are fake. According to the most recent figures, 306,063 counterfeit bills – equal to 99.1 million pesos or $5.4 million – were confiscated in 2015. The most commonly counterfeited bills are the 20, 100 and 500 peso.¹

Rupee Bills: Over the last decade, the Reserve Bank of India detected a total of 4.27 million counterfeit notes. Over one million of those were 100 rupee notes, nearly 2 million were 500 rupee notes and over 700,000 were 1,000 rupee notes.¹ Recently, the 1,000 and 500 notes – 86% of currency in circulation by value – were eliminated in hopes of tackling counterfeits used by terrorist groups.⁴

Yuan Bills: In 2014, Chinese police confiscated 532 million yuan, equivalent to $85.6 million, in fake bills. The most commonly counterfeited notes were 50 and 100 yuan bills.¹

Combat Counterfeiters with Currency Solutions

To fight back against counterfeiters and maintain public confidence in their countries’ currency, treasury departments around the world are issuing redesigns and new security features for banknotes and coins. Likewise, currency processing equipment manufacturers are taking proactive steps to ensure that machines incorporate the most advanced forms of counterfeit detection technology. These technologies include magnetic, luminescence and infrared sensors; enhanced ultraviolet sensing; advanced analytic software; serial number tracking; and proprietary detection and authentication algorithms.

By deploying the most up-to-date currency processing equipment with advanced counterfeit detection technology, retailers, financial institutions, gaming properties and other cash-intensive businesses can protect themselves – and their customers – from counterfeit risks.

To learn more about Cummins Allison’s line of cost-effective counterfeit detection enabled currency processing machines, click here.

About Cummins Allison

Cummins Allison is the leading innovator and provider of check, currency and coin handling solutions, as well as full-function ATMs. Our world-class sales and service network includes hundreds of local professionals in more than 50 offices in North America, 6 wholly-owned subsidiaries and is represented in more than 70 countries around the world. For more information about our award-winning solutions, visitcumminsallison.com.