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Finance and security
Complex security features and a sophisticated design make Swiss banknotes exceptionally difficult to forge. A small amount of risk remains, but if you are familiar with the security features you can protect yourself against forgeries.
Swiss banknotes are among the securest in the world. Numerous security features integrated into the design elements, ink and paper make it extremely difficult to counterfeit them. Nevertheless, criminals keep trying to do so and are thereby likely to cause financial damage to your wallet. Because you aren’t entitled to any compensation if you end up with counterfeit banknotes in your possession. The banknotes cannot be exchanged for their actual value and must be immediately withdrawn from circulation upon discovery.
This is why it’s all the more important that you look for the known and particularly noticeable security features as soon as you are given the money. You can easily identify the features by tilting, feeling and examining the banknote or using a magnifying glass to enlarge it. This ensures that you don’t fall into the trap of forgeries.
In the current ninth series of banknotes, the design itself is already a security element. This is due to the special inks provided by Sicpa, a family business from western Switzerland, which are based on cutting-edge technology and internationally pioneering techniques. The paper used for the banknotes also differs fundamentally from ordinary paper and is very difficult to forge.
But there are more than just optical innovations in the design of the ninth series. This is the first time that the many facets of Switzerland have been depicted instead of famous persons. To allow people to verify the authenticity without the need for additional technical aids, all the notes in the series feature recurring visible elements, such as the globe, the hand and the Swiss flag.
The security features on the banknotes, which can be easily identified by anyone, make it almost impossible to make counterfeit copies. This is because many of the features are produced using special processes involving multiple layers. One consequence of these high standards is that criminals very rarely try to forge the banknotes.
For example, in 2023, just 883 counterfeit 100-franc banknotes were discovered. This figure is very low compared to other countries. According to fedpol, the organization to which the police or institutions pass on the forged notes, counterfeiters in Switzerland are almost always found out.
But it’s not just the high security standards that explain why there are so few forged Swiss banknotes. As a national currency used in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the notes are also much less interesting for large-scale counterfeiting – compared to the euro, for example.
Counterfeit money that has been seized is mostly of poor quality and easily recognizable without technical aids, according to the Swiss National Bank. It’s sufficient, if anything, to check the banknote for common security features.
Unlike banknotes, coins are easier to forge. Experts can usually recognize them on account of the weight or the sound of the coins. Criminals especially target the five-franc coin. If counterfeit money is detected, the Swiss National Bank will also remove it from circulation.
Nevertheless, forging coins rarely means hitting a big criminal jackpot, which is why many counterfeiters don’t even attempt it. Instead, counterfeiting collector coins has been much more popular for some time as this can quickly result in a small fortune.
Each banknote in the ninth series contains 21 security features, most of which are publicly known. If you are familiar with all the obvious features, you can usually check very quickly whether the banknote in your hand is counterfeit.
By contrast, there are other security features of which people have little or no knowledge. The so-called Omron rings, for example, ensure that the banknotes cannot be copied using a color photocopier. Using this feature, the Swiss National Bank can run a special algorithm to accurately check if a note is counterfeit.
If you did not check your money when it was given to you and only later suspect that it’s counterfeit, things can quickly become tricky. The suspected counterfeit banknotes or coins should always be handed in at the nearest police station for verification.
Further steps will be initiated there. The counterfeit money is then normally sent to fedpol, which will check and register it. In cooperation with fedpol, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland initiates appropriate proceedings, if necessary in consultation with the respective cantons – or even with INTERPOL. If you circulate counterfeit money despite your suspicions, you are committing a crime.
But what can you do to avoid being given counterfeit money in the first place?
Thanks to these steps and a brief check, you can at least be somewhat more confident that you are not being duped into accepting counterfeit money.
Swiss banknotes are very difficult to forge due to their complex security features. In addition, the fact that the currency is only used in Switzerland and Liechtenstein makes life difficult for counterfeiters. But a small amount of risk remains. No matter how small the chance is, if you suspect or clearly identify counterfeit money, report it to the police or a financial institution near you.
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