The Central Bank of Kenya has been awarded the best New series banknotes at the High-Security Printing-Europe, Middle East, and Africa (HSP-EMEA) Conference.
The award recognised CBK's release of a new banknote series in August 2024.
The Global Banknotes Awards event happened on February 4, 2025, in Basel, Switzerland.
"The award puts the Kenyan series of banknotes at the forefront of being appealing, secure and of world-class status," Central Bank of Kenya Governor Kamau Thugge said.
"They utilise the latest technology to mitigate against counterfeiting, giving citizens assurance on the security of their currency," Thugge noted.
CBK announced the release of the new series in August 2024, starting with the Sh1,000 note and continuing with the Sh500, Sh200, Sh100 and Sh50 banknotes.
The new series has been circulating alongside the 2019 series of banknotes.
The award cited the enhanced security features of the new banknotes.
The full series comprises Sh1,000, Sh500, Sh200, Sh100 and Sh50 with the same design as the notes they replaced but with enhanced security in the form of Louisenthal’s Rollingstar thread on each of the denominations.
The higher denominations of Sh1,000, Sh500, and Sh200 notes use the Zigzag Dynamic effect while the two lower denominations of Sh100 and Sh50 notes use the crystal effect.
The banknotes feature the use of iridescent bands with UV for each of the denominations, while dual colour fluorescence is maintained as a secondary-level security element against counterfeiting.
The event brought together security document players who focused on government-specified and issued documents including currency, fiduciary documents, excise stamps, ID cards, e-passports, visas, vehicle documents and licences.
