K5000 note earns RBM award
The new K5 000 bank note has earned the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) a global award.
Banknote Solutions’ Key Account Management and African countries vice-president Dominic Fleisher symbolically presented the award to RBM on Friday in Lilongwe.
Fleisher said the K5 000 note got the global recognition for its technical sophistication, strong security features and unique design which reflects the country’s cultural heritage.
He said: “The security features on the note are unique, that cannot be counterfeited. The global evaluators of the bank notes worldwide were also amazed at the beautiful array on Malawian K5 000 note, which depicts Malawi’s culture.”
Fleisher explained that the note was selected at a high security printers’ conference which took place last month in Estonia where it was awarded the Best New Banknote of the Year Award, which recognises outstanding achievement of countries on currency.
The award was initially presented to RBM governor Dr Wilson Banda during his visit to G+D Currency Technology in Munich, Germany in June 2022 before the symbolic presentation to RBM yesterday.
Banda thanked the G+D for presenting the award in person in the country.
He said: “I wish to thank our partner the G+D for coming to Malawi to present this award and more importantly the good collaboration we have had in order to produce the K5 000 banknote. I am sure this is not the only award that our banknotes will win.”
The G+D South Africa hub capitalised on the award presentation to install a newly-introduced BPSM7 processing machine at RBM.
According to G+D South Africa Hub vice-president and managing director Andreas Luginger, the machine is rated highly for remaking waned currencies and destroying worn-out notes while having the capacity to detect counterfeit bank notes.
He said: “Over the years, counterfeiters have also been perfecting their trade to beat detection systems. The machine is a response to the need to increase the longevity of banknotes and counterfeit detection, among others.”
G+D is a supplier of currency processing technology to Malawi and prints Malawi’s three highest currency denominations of K1 000, K2 000 and the award-winning K5 000 banknote.
This is the first time ever RBM has won such an award.
The K5 000 bank note was first issued in February this year and represents the latest technology in currency printing
