Having been recently appointed as General Manager of Oberthur Fiduciaire, Etienne Couëlle must deal with a global health crisis that is expected to continue impacting economies around the world. Our discussion with this key player in the global security printing provides insight into a business that is as discreet as it is innovative.


What has been the impact of the public health and economic crises on the banknote printing industry and your company?

As with all sectors, the current crisis brings a high level of uncertainty. That being said, the global security industry is in a unique position because our customers are central banks that need to provide their citizens with liquidity (cash). We are much less impacted by the crisis because while online payments have grown, a large majority of the world’s population still prefers to pay with cash – even in developed economies. The proof is in the numbers: in the euro zone, for example, the amount of cash in circulation increased by 11% in 2020 compared to the usual 5% per year. Confidence in cash remains strong and has even increased with the current crisis.  

This confidence citizens have in cash can be seen by the orders we have received from the central banks we work with. Despite the crisis, our ability to produce and deliver orders of banknotes has not been compromised. Our processes are subject to ISO norms with very strict requirements covering different areas such as quality management systems (ISO 9001), information security (ISO 27001), respect of the environment (ISO 14001) and even anti-bribery programs (ISO 37001). Having the trust of our clients is of the utmost importance to us and we have done everything we can to fulfill our mission regardless of the current economic context.  


You have now been the General Manager of Oberthur Fiduciaire for a few months. What priorities or ambitions do you want to focus on?

Even though I have recently started in this new role, I am really going back to my roots because I actually left Oberthur Fiduciaire fifteen years ago. The company has always been dear to me and I have never strayed too far from it. I have spent the last eleven years in the field of in vitro diagnostics (clinical biology) and over the last 12 months I was focused on setting up the infrastructure for large-scale COVID-19 RT-PCR testing.  

The public health and economic crises have demonstrated just how resilient Oberthur Fiduciaire is which has enabled us to be 100% invested in our work. The numerous central banks that make up our clientele have benefitted from our focus. This resiliency did not happen by chance, but is the result of our optimized value chain that is expertly handled by our teams. In recent years, Oberthur Fiduciaire made the decision to stop relying on suppliers or subcontractors whose own potential difficulties we could not prevent. We recognized that their problems could have a negative impact on our production. It was with this perspective that, in 2017, Oberthur Fiduciaire acquired VHP, a Dutch company specialized in paper production for banknotes. Our Chairman and CEO, Thomas Savare, called this union a “perfect match” since the two companies are complementary and enrich one another. Plus, it allows Oberthur Fiduciaire to now have an extremely efficient supply chain with little exposure to external factors. Our daily objective is to further strengthen our supply chain and to constantly pursue innovations, particularly safety and security features. The success of our Bioguard treatment against COVID 19 has proven that innovation must remain at the heart of our business.


 

What are the characteristics of Oberthur Fiduciaire’s Bioguard protection for COVID-19?

Oberthur Fiduciaire is a world leader in banknote printing and for years now, the company has been interested in the question of whether or not bacteria, viruses and other microscopic fungi are transmitted when cash exchanges hands. Well before the H5N1 crisis, our teams developed a treatment that was constantly tested and improved in order to make the surface of banknotes “hostile” to bacteria, viruses and other microscopic fungi – without having any negative impact on humans. This is an additional safeguard that should put an end to scientifically unfounded fears perpetuated by certain interested parties trying to discourage cash payments in order to push people towards electronic payments. 

In March 2020, at the very beginning of the current pandemic, an independent laboratory tested our Bioguard treatment and found that it was particularly effective against coronaviruses. The tested samples showed that 99.9% of the human coronaviruses OC43 were eliminated by Bioguard. Untreated banknotes had 1,000 times more traces of the virus than those treated with Bioguard. And this is considering that the surface of banknotes is already very inhospitable to viruses. There is essentially a 0% chance of finding active viruses on a Bioguard-treated banknote – a probability you don’t get with a credit card for example…

Bioguard can be applied while banknotes are being printed, as a post-printing varnish or can be directly integrated into the paper’s production process. It is also effective when applied to a variety of other everyday objects. This newfound success of our treatment against a virus that has caused so much human and economic devastation has not gone unnoticed by central banks.

 
How do you reconcile your business activities with the climate crisis?  

To start, Oberthur Fiduciaire made the choice to concentrate on producing banknotes made of paper. Since the circulation of banknotes in Europe began to boom in the 17th century, they have always been made of cotton (paper). Some benefits of this natural material include that it does not cause pollution, can be renewed with each harvest and is easily recycled. Over the past few years, a small number of central banks have chosen to put polymer banknotes into circulation. We have decided not to go in this direction as it goes against our commitment to the environment. Simply put, polymer is plastic. It is therefore very difficult to recycle and does not have any properties that are inherently superior to those of paper. Made from plant-based renewable raw materials, the paper banknote still has some wonderful pages of history to write and we hope to contribute as much as we can to that story. Even more so because, at the end of its lifecycle, the paper banknote can be recovered securely.

Recycling is not a meaningless word for Oberthur Fiduciaire considering that 80% of the waste from our factory in Rennes is recycled.  Furthermore, that location has been 100% powered by renewable energy for almost a year now. These efforts have also been implemented in our other production sites and all have been ISO 14001 certified. Our approach is voluntary and proactive and eventually, we hope all of our activities will be climate neutral. 

The challenges of banknote printing

Banknote printing is an industry fraught with risks and challenges. Not only are there myriad security concerns, the need for exceptional quality, longevity, cultural resonance, and technological sophistication all compete for attention during the design process.
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s recent ‘micro-text’ slipup demonstrates the need for meticulous attention to detail. Equally, the ongoing epidemic of counterfeit banknotes in Malaysia is an indicator of both the complexity and the practical necessity of utilising up-to-date anti-forgery technology in the prevention of crime.

On top of these considerations, central banks are constantly trying to keep their finger on the pulse of national sentiment, staying modern and deploying cultural personalities and references onto banknotes whilst avoiding the sting of controversy such as the one on gender equality among the historical characters printed on banknotes.

Central banks and their requirements

The requirements of central banks are best outlined in the call for tenders they engage in at the start of the banknote printing process. Banks will put out the request for services with their essential specifications, and banknote printers will respond carefully to these with their own proposals on how they can best tackle their requests.

“These specifications contain requirements of cost, technique and a vision I would say almost artistic or at least symbolic...[Banknotes] must contain as many security features as cultural ones,” explained Thomas Savare, CEO of the banknote printer Oberthur Fiduciaire.
“Candidates present their technical and technological capacities and clients can then make a choice among the candidates by taking into account all the criteria they consider to be relevant,” he said.

Each central bank will have its own criteria for companies that it works with, but some elements are a must. As such, the effectiveness of the relationship between banks and their fiduciary printers can be improved through close ties.
The relationship between central banks and their banknote printers is more than a contract: it is a partnership, Savare explained. "What remains at the heart of the relationship, as it does with private companies, is trust. It must be the fundamental quality of every relationship and every transaction,” he said.

Quality design and cultural vision

Because banknote printers have a privileged role in their work with central banks, they can have huge influence over the design process. They are specialists who bring a lot of expertise to the table, even at this early stage, helping banks to avoid mistakes that may affect the quality of the finished product.

“It is not just a business for us, it is a real craft that we do with passion and commitment. We also strive to put listening at the root of our relationships with our customers,” Savare said.

It is important that banks and their printers collaborate on a complete vision for the banknote series. While both parties will have ideas about the project, give and take is necessary to produce something that the bank will be pleased with over the lifespan of the banknote.

“It seems essential to us not to apply pre-established processes and designs to customers. Once again, the banknote is not only a practical object, it is a social bond and a cultural medium,” Savare said.

Security and Technology

Close partnerships allow banks to express their needs and cultural expectations, in turn allowing printers to combine them with know-how and integrated security features that are also intuitive to use for the public.

Printing companies, particularly well-established ones, have industry-specific technologies that are nearly impossible to find anywhere else. As responsible partners, they are constantly evolving their capabilities to guarantee the integrity of their customers products through new printing techniques and inserted components such as holograms and security threads.

"The banknote is a highly technological object and must be very well secured. We put a significant part of our resources into R&D in order to always remain ahead of the curve,” Savare explained.

Security printers play a proactive role in improving industry standards. While central banks have been increasingly demanding in terms of security guarantees, printers can positively influence trends in practice by working to beat these expectations. For the printers, this results in a competitive advantage so they are incentivised to do this by acquiring certification that can back up their statements and guarantees.

“We are rather satisfied with the tightening of the requirements of the central banks because it raises the general level of the sector and at the same time allows us to distinguish ourselves. Potential customers quickly realise that whatever their requirements, we already have the same ones,” Savare adds.

Guarantees of the whole supply chain

“Today, central banks are increasingly aware that observing the finished product is not good enough. The customer wants to be able to control safety for each step of design, production, transport and final delivery,” Savare explained.

For this reason, printers have an existential requirement to think about their partners’ supply chain needs first. If they act without consideration, they can lose a contract. By being transparent about their processes, printers provide central banks the confidence that they need to develop strong working relationships and make good on statements about their own supply chain commitments. This is another way that the fiduciary industry functions as a key partner to central banks.

In addition, in a context of growing awareness of environmental issues, Oberthur Fiduciaire publicly demonstrated its strong commitments at the World Banknote Summit in September 2018. Indeed, the French company has adopted a sustainable management system based on international ISO standards. This system, which the company has called EARTH 365, aims to continuously improve procedures and products in order to further minimize their environmental impact. This concern is obviously shared by the Central Banks themselves, which are happy to be able to count on partners who, from the beginning to the end of the supply chain, take these concerns into account.

By thinking of themselves as partners, printers and banks both benefit from reactive, secure relationships built on trust. This empowers them to take on the larger issues affecting their industry with flexible, multi-perspective solutions, and ensures that companies cutting corners or unwilling to step up will eventually disappear