Bank notes

• August 21, 2004

  The Canadian Experience with Counterfeiting

  Bank of Canada Review - Summer 2004 John Chant

  Counterfeiting poses a significant public policy issue because of the important role that paper money plays in Canada's payments system. Yet the threat of counterfeiting in all economies has increased markedly in the past decade as a result of technological advances to photocopiers and computer printers. An appropriate public policy response is thus necessary to maintain the public's continued confidence in the national currency. To assess the threat from counterfeiting, including possible loss of confidence in the currency, estimating the stock of counterfeits circulating is necessary. In this article, Chant proposes a composite method of detecting counterfeits as an effective alternative to existing methods and offers estimates of the extent of counterfeiting Canadian currency for 2001. An Addendum to the article summarizes Chant's methods and updates the calculations to 2003.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Bank notes
• August 13, 1997

  The new bank note distribution system

  Bank of Canada Review - Summer 1997 Gerrit Bilkes

  In this article, the author outlines the recent changes made to the way Canada's bank notes are distributed. The new system allows financial institutions to exchange notes directly with one another at designated points across the country, rather than through Bank of Canada agencies, as was previously the case. The institutions communicate with the Bank of Canada through a computerized inventory-management system. Two Bank of Canada operations centres monitor note quality and supply new notes to the financial institutions. While the Bank continues to maintain firm control over the distribution of Canada's bank notes, the management of information rather than physical notes will improve efficiency and allow significant cost savings to the Bank of Canada and to the government.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Bank notes, Financial institutions
• November 7, 1994

  The use of Canadian bank notes

  Bank of Canada Review - Autumn 1994 Louise Hyland

  This article delves into the microeconomics of note circulation, reviewing main factors affecting the demand for bank notes over the last 50 years, including new technology such as automated banking machines. It also discusses trends in the average value of notes in circulation and in the demand for notes of different denominations.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Bank notes