As part of efforts to improve the security of Canadian bank notes, the Bank of Canada said Thursday it will issue a $10 note with upgraded security features beginning May 18.

The new note will have the same security features found on the $20, $50, and $100 Canadian Journey series notes issued in 2004. The improved features include a metallic holographic stripe, a watermark portrait, a windowed colour-shifting thread woven into the paper, a see-through number, and enhanced fluorescence under ultraviolet lighting. These features are reliable and quick and easy to use, and are designed to help Canadians protect themselves from accepting counterfeit notes. The illustrations on the front and back of the note will be the same as those on the $10 note issued in 2001.

The Bank says it continues to work with the retail and financial sectors as well as law enforcement agencies to inform cash-handlers about the anti-counterfeiting features found on Canadian notes. “To minimize opportunities for counterfeiters, it is important for cash-handlers and consumers alike to take the few seconds that are needed to check the new easy-to-use security features,” said David Dodge, Governor of the Bank of Canada.

The Bank of Canada will work with the financial industry to remove previous versions of the $10 note from circulation and expects that most of the older $10 notes will be withdrawn in approximately one year.

The Bank of Canada is also collaborating with its partners to ensure the smooth introduction of the upgraded $10 note into daily cash exchanges. The Bank is providing manufacturers of bank note handling equipment — such as automated banking machines, change-makers, and automated ticket dispensers — with the necessary information to make the required adjustments to their equipment. “In order to ensure that bills are not rejected by bank note handling equipment, it is important for the owners and manufacturers of this equipment to be ready for the upgraded note on May 18,” said Roy Poppe, President of the Canadian Automatic Merchandising Association. “This simply makes good business sense.”