Bank of Central African States Taps Mobile Tech to Fight Fake Currency
The application details security features for both the general public and for professionals who use ultraviolet lamps for authentication (such as merchants, commercial banks, and microfinance institutions).
The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) has launched a new mobile application called “BEAC NG2020” to help the public and financial professionals authenticate BEAC banknotes from the “Type 2020” series. The application is a tool to intensify the fight against counterfeiting.
Available for free on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the app allows users with Android and iOS phones to verify the authenticity of the 2020 series banknotes they hold or receive. Users can compare the security features illustrated in the application with those on the physical banknotes.
The application details security features for both the general public and for professionals who use ultraviolet lamps for authentication (such as merchants, commercial banks, and microfinance institutions). The illustrated features include watermarks, incomplete motifs, serial numbers, security threads, and impressions perceptible to the touch. The app also shows how to authenticate notes by tilting them to observe the dynamic 3D motifs and by placing them under a UV lamp to see specific fluorescent features.
BEAC emphasizes that counterfeiting is highly detrimental to the economy and individuals who are defrauded. The bank encourages the public and professionals, who are the first line of defense against counterfeit money, to make extensive use of this new application as part of a broader set of measures to ensure confidence in the currency it issues.
