Last week, Governor-General of New Zealand Jerry Mateparae and Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler unveiled the country’s new $20, $50 and $100 banknotes, which will enter circulation May 16 (although the updated notes couldn’t come soon enough).
Earlier this week, New Zealand law enforcement discovered counterfeit $100 banknotes – some fastened together with tape and lacking significant security features – were used at businesses in Christchurch, a garden city on the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island.
Fortunately for government officials, the country’s new $20, $50 and $100 notes feature “sophisticated anti-counterfeiting technology.”
However, it’s uncertain if the new security measures will offer any help to authorities: police said the recently used counterfeits were unsophisticated and, because they were likely photocopied, lacked the transparent security windows that are also found on Canadian banknotes.