The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday.
The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said.
It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards.
Photo: Lu Kuan-cheng, Taipei Times
“Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity of the national currency and ensure transaction safety,” Yang said.
The new series would feature dynamic and visually distinct security elements such as color-shifting inks and motion effects, allowing the notes’ authenticity to be verified more easily, while significantly raising the barrier for counterfeiting, he said.
The notes would include larger numerals and enhanced tactile marks to help visually impaired users more easily identify denominations, he added.
In keeping with global trends in issuing “green banknotes” and the government’s net zero transition policy, the redesigned notes would use more environmentally friendly materials and production processes to improve sustainability, Yang said.
Recognizing that currency design carries symbolic meaning, the central bank would establish a “New Taiwan Dollar Banknote Theme Advisory Committee” to gather input from experts and the public, the governor said.
The committee would select themes and visual motifs that reflect the nation’s identity, values and spirit of the times to foster a sense of unity and shared pride, he said.
The first redesigned note is expected to be issued about two-and-a-half years after the completion of the theme selection process, with other denominations to follow in stages, he said.
The old and new notes would circulate concurrently for several years, in line with international practice to ensure a smooth transition, he said.
The redesigned series would not feature political figures, and the Formosan sika deer — currently depicted on the back of the NT$500 note — would be replaced, he said.
“Once a protected species, the sika deer has since seen its population rebound, making its original ecological symbolism less relevant,” Yang said.
The final imagery would be determined by the advisory committee, he said.
As for coins, the central bank has no plans for a redesign, as their low value and high circulation volume make an overhaul unnecessary, the governor said.
He emphasized that the project is not political, and focuses instead on technological modernization, sustainability and cost efficiency.
“If we do not update now, the future cost will only be higher,” Yang said.
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