In 1967, the Reserve Bank of Australia commissioned an R and D project to develop a more secure banknote following the emergence of a large volume of high quality counterfeits of the 1966 series A$10 paper notes. After many years of development, the world's first non-fibrous polymer banknote was printed by Note Printing Australia (NPA) and issued into circulation by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in 1988. In 1996, the RBA formed Securency as a joint venture with UCB* - a Belgian-based multinational company and the world's leading manufacturer of biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP). This is the base material for the polymer banknote substrate Guardian®, which is now being used in over 20 countries, including Australia, Mexico and Romania.
Securency is based in Melbourne, Australia and supplies Guardian® substrate exclusively for banknotes and Sentinel® substrate for a range of government security documents such as Land Titles, Passports, and SENTRII® substrate for Identity Cards. It is ISO 9001:2000 accredited and has an aggressive R&D program to keep ahead of the counterfeiters. A license is held by Innovia Films to develop European opportunities for the technology.
* In 2004, UCB sold its equity interest in Securency to Innovia Films
