Quick change: Can cash notes become gadgets?

India has received a new Rs 2000 note which carries a state-of-the-art makeover. But there was a bit of disappointment when people got their hands on the crisp pink paper because there was no GPS chip, no exotic hi-tech features that were being advertised via those hoax WhatsApp texts.

So here’s the moot question then: How much technology can you infuse into currency paper? Can paper currencies be tracked even when they are buried 120 feet?

The answer is, no. One of the most counterfeited paper currencies is not the Indian Rupee, it’s currencies such as the US Dollar (one counterfeit in every 4,000 bank notes). On the other hand, the Swiss Franc is considered one of the most impossible-to-copy paper currencies because it has 18 security features in each note — including ink that changes colour under light, a watermark register and watermark portrait. In the UK, the notes even have markings which help the visually-impaired.

For technology to work in a bank note, you need connectivity and longevity — which can never come in a paper note. The highest denomination in paper currency has an average life span of 90 months and the lowest, say a rupee or a five-rupee note, has less than 15 months’ life. This is because the higher the denomination, the least likely it is to change hands. But contrary to this, the lifespan of Rs 5 or Rs 10 coins is around 25 years. The dilemma for India is that the cost of printing coins is always higher — it costs at least three times more to mint a coin than a paper note in India.

So can polymer banknotes be the answer? Canada and Australia have been printing polymer notes since 1988. Polymer notes are washable and even show a circle of numbers that match the denomination value when held against light. They are also recyclable after lasting a lifetime that is 2.5 times longer than paper bills.

Today, 23 nations use polymer banknotes but only six have all denominations in plastic. India is due to bring out its first polymer note in smaller denominations but beyond embedding security threads which are magnetic and being fluorescent, do not expect much tech in a polymer banknote because it’s first a medium of exchange, not a hand-held gadget.

The author can be reached at sridhar.sattiraju@gmail.com