Life cycle
At the heart of every Swiss banknote series are a set of requirements: the notes must not only meet high security standards and be easy to use, but they must also satisfy aesthetic criteria. These requirements are the bedrock on which any new banknote series is developed.
Once the development phase has been completed, the life cycle of a new banknote begins: from the production of the paper and the ink through to the production of the banknote; from the quality control of the banknote upon its arrival at the SNB through to its public issuance; and from the return and sorting of banknotes through to their destruction. The final stage in the life cycle sees the banknote being shredded and consigned to the waste incinerator.
Each banknote thus generates financial costs and has an impact on the environment.
Requirements
Swiss banknotes are traditionally required to meet high standards of security, functionality and design. They are thus a fascinating symbiosis of aesthetics and technological sophistication.
Development
The development of the ninth banknote series began in the 2000s when several key decisions were taken. As all of the denominations had proven their worth, the SNB decided to keep the same denominations as in the eighth banknote series. This means that the new series will also feature a 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 1000-franc note.
When developing a new banknote series, particular attention is paid to the choice of security features. In conjunction with its partners, the SNB has devised several new and innovative features for the ninth series, including the substrate, the globe, the security strip, the cross and the triangle. Thanks to these security features, which are based on new technologies and processes, the ninth series is extremely difficult to counterfeit.
At the beginning of 2005, the SNB launched a competition for the design of the ninth banknote series, inviting twelve graphic designers to submit their proposals. The task of the competition was to come up with design proposals for the new series, while taking certain technical requirements into consideration. The designs were then evaluated by a jury, ranked and presented to the public at the end of November 2005.
In February 2007, the SNB announced that it would be pursuing preparations for Switzerland’s new banknote series with Swiss graphic designer Manuela Pfrunder, who had been placed second in the competition. After the designs of the three winners were developed further, it became clear that Manuela Pfrunder’s work was particularly suitable for the new banknote series in terms of realisability.
Production
From 2007 on, Manuela Pfrunder and her team refined the design of the ninth banknote series. This challenging work was undertaken in Manuela Pfrunder’s studio, which was specially fitted with a range of security measures. One of the main reasons for it being such a challenge is because a new banknote series is not just about the design, but rather about the interplay of design and the security features. In several production stages, the images, illustrations and security features were evaluated, reviewed and adapted. Indeed, the many design changes also resulted in the theme of the banknote series being renamed. The theme is now ‘The many facets of Switzerland’.
The notes for the ninth series will be printed on a three-layer banknote substrate (Durasafe®) supplied by Landqart (www.landqart.com). Durasafe is an innovative combination of paper and polymer (a plastic layer). The Durasafe substrate consists of two thin layers of cotton paper, which make up the front and back of the banknote. The surface thus has all the qualities of traditional banknote paper, while the central polymer core lends the note mechanical strength. The first security features are applied during the production of the paper layers that make up the front and back of the note. One of these paper layers goes through a separate manufacturing process during which the tried-and-tested security thread is applied.
A number of other security features are then created in the Durasafe unit: the cut-out elements – the Swiss cross, the flag and a triangle – which give the note a unique appearance. Inside the ‘sandwich’ is a transparent layer of polymer, which bonds the two layers of paper together. This polymer is only visible in areas where the paper layers have been cut away. Finally, the paper rolls are cut to size and the sheets are stacked onto palettes, ready for delivery to the printer’s.
In addition to the special banknote substrate, the production of banknotes also requires special security inks which, like the notes themselves, have to meet high security standards. They must be resistant to an array of chemicals as well as to various external factors such as sunlight or a washing machine cycle. The security inks for the ninth banknote series are supplied by SICPA (www.sicpa.com) in Prilly.
The ninth banknote series, like the previous ones, is printed by Orell Füssli Security Printing Ltd (www.ofs.ch). Swiss banknote manufacturing involves several production steps, including seven printing procedures, as well as one application and one perforation procedure. The printing process begins with the preparation of the electronic data created by the graphic designer. Using CAD (computer-aided design) tools, these are converted into printable data and allocated to the relevant printing processes. The plates are made with the help of state-of-the-art plate production processes such as CtP (computer-to-plate). A super-simultaneous offset printing machine is then used to print a variety of multi-coloured line patterns and grids onto both sides of the paper sheets. The high-precision printing allows perfect alignment of elements on the front and back of the note, creating see-through registers in designated areas.
During the silkscreen printing procedure, an iridescent band is applied to the back of the note. This makes the note more stable. The foil application unit applies the security strip, which was developed by Leonhard Kurz (www.kurz.de) and consists of multiple layers; among other things, it contains red and green numbers. If you look more closely, you can see metallic microlettering and the value numeral of the denomination shining in either silver or rainbow colours.
In a second silkscreen printing procedure, a shimmering globe – which features on each new denomination – is applied to the banknote. The appearance and colour of the globe change depending on the viewing angle. Magnetic pigments are added to the ink in order to achieve this effect.
One of the most important stages in the printing process is intaglio printing – a technique that is used on both the front and back of the note. Coloured inks are applied to the grooves in the printing plates. The ink is applied to the paper under high pressure and at a high temperature. This creates a relief structure that can be felt when touching the note.
In a further step, the Swiss cross is added using a perforation procedure (Microperf®). Then, once the serial number has been applied via the letterpress printing technique, the notes are varnished to protect them against soiling. The finished paper sheets are subsequently cut to size and arranged in bundles. The print quality and security features of each and every banknote are then checked in a testing unit, and any defective notes are rejected. The final step sees the notes packed up, ready for delivery to the SNB.
Upon delivery at the SNB, spot checks are carried out on the freshly printed banknotes. Once the quality assurance process has been completed, the new banknotes are released for circulation.
Issuing and returning banknotes
Banknotes are issued and returned via the SNB's network of cash distribution services, which consists of the SNB's own bank offices (head offices in Berne and Zurich) and 13 agencies.
The SNB's two bank offices are the largest suppliers of cash to the Swiss economy. They have processing and storage facilities and are responsible for the supply of cash in the respective regions; they are also in charge of servicing the agencies for which they are responsible.
The agencies are cash distribution services operated by cantonal banks on behalf of the SNB. These agencies are responsible for the issuance and return of cash and - unlike the two SNB bank offices - only have limited cash processing and storage facilities.
Delivery and withdrawal provisions for holders of sight deposit accounts
Based on the Federal Act on Currency and Payment Instruments (CPIA), the following delivery and withdrawal provisions apply in transactions between sight deposit account holders and the Swiss National Bank:
Customer relationship
Customers cannot simultaneously offer and demand notes of the same denomination. For example, they cannot return 100-franc notes and get new ones at the same time. The SNB thus forces the customer to pre-sort the banknotes. Banknotes of the same denomination received by the customer should be recirculated, with only the excess being delivered to the SNB. This rule keeps customers from passing on to the SNB the sorting necessary for their own purposes. Some customers have outsourced this pre-sorting to cash handling companies.
Number of banknotes issued and returned
In 2024, 244.0 million notes were issued and 238.4 million were returned. With an average of 514.0 million banknotes in circulation, this means that a single banknote returned to the SNB less than once in 2024, which is below the long-term average of 1.1 times. The following chart shows that the annual return frequency is different for each denomination.
Sorting and destruction
In what follows, you will learn interesting facts about the life expectancy of banknotes as well as their authentication and destruction.
Banknotes that are returned to an SNB bank office are sorted and checked for authenticity in special sorting machines. Genuine banknotes in good condition are put back into circulation; damaged or soiled ones are destroyed. Notes that the sorting machine does not recognise as genuine are rejected and must be checked manually. Counterfeit banknotes are handed over to the police.
Notes that are fragmented, burnt, decayed, or - due to the improper opening of a security cash box - are dye-stained, or are otherwise severely damaged, are sent to the SNB in Berne for verification.
The sorting machines used for the processing of banknotes have an integrated shredder, which, in one and the same process, destroys banknotes that have been recognised as genuine but are no longer suitable for circulation. What remain are snippets of banknotes, which are compacted and subsequently taken to the public waste incinerator.
The life span of a banknote varies depending on the denomination. The 10-franc, 20-franc and 50-franc notes, which are very commonly used for payments, are in circulation for three to six years on average, while the 100-franc, 200-franc and 1000-franc notes have a longer life expectancy. The longer lifespan of the larger denomination banknotes is a function of their tending to be used more frequently for store of value purposes.
In 2024, the SNB put 41.5 million freshly printed banknotes with a total nominal value of CHF 4.8 billion into circulation. It destroyed 30.1 million damaged or recalled banknotes with a face value of CHF 2.4 billion.
Costs
The cost of producing Swiss banknotes depends on the note’s size (denomination) and on the production volume, and generally averages around 40 centimes.
Life cycle assessment of the ninth banknote series
Under its statutory mandate the Swiss National Bank has the exclusive right to issue Swiss banknotes, and determines their denominations and design. This means that the SNB has an influence on the environmental impact of its banknotes and endeavours to make their life cycle as environmentally compatible as possible.
After completion of the introduction of the ninth banknote series, in 2021 the SNB commissioned a life cycle assessment to analyse the associated environmental impact. The results of the life cycle assessment show that the issuance of Swiss banknotes has a low environmental impact. At around 1,900 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year in total, the greenhouse gas emissions are also low. Of this, around 1,550 tonnes result from the manufacture of the banknotes, primarily the production of high-quality raw materials. Another 250 tonnes or so result from SNB logistics, and around 100 tonnes from disposal in a waste incineration plant.