29th August 2023
The Best is Now Even Better
RAPID® VISION BEATS THE CLOCK WITH A FEATURE THAT KEEPS THE PUBLIC FIRST… AND FAST
In today’s day and age we are constantly on the lookout for processes that simplify and make faster all aspects of our lives, including how we pay. Already fast, cash payments take about 10 seconds to conclude and of these we spend an average of about one second looking at our banknotes. Of that, only one-third of a second is typically dedicated to verifying the authenticity of our banknotes.
STAYING AHEAD THROUGH CONSTANT INNOVATION
Understanding how quickly the public uses its cash helps innovators like Crane Currency invent security features that make banknotes easier to use and more secure.
Crane Currency has made its fair share of color-shifting security threads, but rarely produces them today. After decades of use, color-shifting materials have found their way into all sorts of products and applications. This fact has been pushing many central banks to move away from simple color shifting films to features that exhibit easy to see movement. Today, movement is undeniably a key characteristic of effective public security. The obvious example for us is that the RAPID® feature became our most popular security thread just four years after its introduction. Out of the 150+ denominations that feature Crane micro-optics today, RAPID is included in more than half of them.
Spurred by our commitment to consistently innovate and challenge the industry, Crane Currency recently launched RAPID® Vision – the first ever micro-optic security thread having multicolor movement effects makes accurately authenticating banknotes even faster and easier.
EXPERTISE THAT ENSURES VALUE AND SECURITY
At Crane, we believe that improving banknotes requires understanding how people use that one third of a second to check their money. Crane knew how to add complex color movements to its security threads, but would it produce a better feature and a more secure banknote? To answer this, Crane turned to the science of perception.
Crane Currency consulted with and commissioned a perception study from Secure Perception Research (SPR). Its CEO and founder, Professor Jane Raymond has over 15 years of experience in the field of banknotes and public perception and has worked with central banks in Europe, the USA, England and Canada.
The SPR study established a baseline. The public could, in under a second, identify a banknote’s denomination and differentiate genuine RAPID® security threads from simulations, i.e., with 92% accuracy. The same test was repeated using multicolor RAPID Vision security threads. The results were impressive. It was shown that the public could authenticate RAPID Vision from 50 ms to 160 ms faster, and without any loss of accuracy. In addition, a whopping 83% of participants found RAPID Vision security threads easier to use. Here was a nice outcome for designers: the more attractive thread (as subjectively voiced by participants) turned out to be easier to use and even more secure.
THE RESULTS ARE IN
Improving security can be expressed via a two-part equation of ease of use and counterfeit resilience. RAPID Vision security threads are complex, and extremely difficult to counterfeit or even simulate effectively. Add to this that RAPID Vision security threads have been shown to measurably improve ease of use. The result is improved banknote security. A perfect result for a fast-moving public.
If you are a Central Bank interested in strengthening the security of your banknotes with features that keep the public first and fast, please reach out to us at [email protected].