10th May 2023

Kyrgyz Republic Introduces Three Banknotes with RAPID® HD Detect

The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic has introduced three new banknotes in denominations of 200, 500 and 1000 Som. The notes will be in circulation from May 10, 2023, and honor the 30th anniversary of the national currency. The three notes are equipped with high-level security features such as RAPID^® HD Detect, fulfilling the need for the highest public protection against counterfeiting and machine-readability for easy verification by banknote processing equipment.

The principal design of new banknotes remains a reflection of the historical and cultural heritage of Kyrgyzstan and is unchanged from the previous series. The portraits, representatives of art and culture, have been preserved on the front of the banknotes and notable sites of the republic on the reverse.

When the notes are tilted, the background of RAPID HD Detect security thread moves rapidly up and down, and the diamond-shaped logo of the National Bank pulsates. 

The secure IR properties of RAPID HD Detect are invisible to the eye but are easily verified by banknote processing equipment used throughout the cash processing ecosystem – from high-speed sorters to bill validators and acceptors.

In November 2017, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic was the first to issue a banknote using Crane’s micro-optic stripe MOTION SURFACE^®. Applied to the 2,000 Som commemorative, the banknote celebrated the 25th anniversary of the national currency garnering international attention and winning the 2018 High Security Printing Conference’s Regional Banknote of the Year award.  

Click here for more information from the Kyrgyz Bank.