REVIEW OF SECURITY FEATURES IN INDIAN AND FOREIGN BANKNOTES: COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES ON FRAUD PREVENTION AND COUNTERFEITING

Abstract

Currency is the foundation of any state economy, enabling trade, commerce, and financial transactions. With the increasing sophistication of counterfeit currency production due to advanced digital printing and imaging technologies, central banks worldwide have been constantly enhancing the security features of their banknotes to protect their currency and ensure confidence in their value.[1],[16],[20] Contemporary banknotes possess an array of protection tools, both overt and forensic, which can be used by the general public and experts to identify forgeries.[1],[10],[16] Among the first countries to adopt polymers as the primary material for their banknotes were Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, which implemented transparent windows and introduced even more advanced holographic security devices on their banknotes.[10],[11],[13]-[15],[19] In turn, the Reserve Bank of India employs a variety of global security measures for its banknotes, including those made of polymer, such as watermark, windowed security thread, latent image, see-through register, and tactile feature for the visually impaired.[12],[33] This article compares the security features of Indian currency notes with those of foreign counterparts, as well as an overview of recent innovations in the field of banknote examination, image processing, and artificial intelligence applied to detect counterfeit notes. The study identifies current trends and potential areas of innovation in the field of currency security.[1],[10],[16],[17],[19]