Bank's new technology counters counterfeits

Cash is king, particularly in times of financial crisis, but as criminals become increasingly sophisticated at producing forged currency, authorities are being forced to act.

The Czech National Bank (ČNB) is stepping up its fight against counterfeits by widening the availability of its popular "Czech Money" mobile phone app.

The device, available for free in both Czech and English, was initially launched at the beginning of last year, but only for mobile devices running the iOS mobile operating system from Apple.

In one year, 11,000 users have downloaded the iOS version from Apple's App Store, and last month the central bank expanded the services to make an Android version of the app available on Google Play.

The app, which has been developed in collaboration with Czech company Zentity, allows users to view the Czech coins and notes in detail on their mobile device, so they can familiarize themselves with the protective elements of various bank notes and compare them with the cash they have in their pocket, ČNB spokesman Marek Petruš said.

The ČNB is now hoping other central banks across the world will also embrace the idea.

"The Czech National Bank was one of the first central banks in the European Union to use new technology to inform people about the protective elements of banknotes. After the launch of the pilot version of the app for iOS mobile devices, we got enquiries from some of our colleagues from central banks around Europe about the details of developing the app," Petruš told The Prague Post.

Last year, the National Bank of Poland launched its own app focused on the Polish złoty in connection with the European Football Championship.

The latest figures from the ČNB revealed a total of 4,514 counterfeit and altered banknotes and coins of all currencies were seized in the Czech Republic last year, an annual drop of nearly 25 percent.

"The majority of counterfeits last year were again created using unsophisticated techniques," said ČNB bank board member Lubomír Lízal. "Counterfeiters most often used inkjet printers and photocopiers. Such counterfeits are usually not very good. They either have no protective elements or only crude imitations of them."

Andrew Greene can be reached at
agreene@praguepost.com