An important security feature on the new Mandela banknotes, which were rolled out in November last year, has been found to be defective, it was reported on Sunday.
The security thread, the most visible feature on the notes, which was meant to be embedded in the note, was found to be easily lifting off which could be a “counterfeiter’s haven”, the Sunday Times reported.
The thread is produced by a German company.
The notes are printed by a South African company, South African Bank Note Company, and a Swedish company.
The Swedish company prints the R20, R50 and R200 notes while the South African company prints the R10 and R100 notes.
The Reserve Bank, which owns South African Bank Note Company, admitted to “isolated complaints” about the defective security thread on lower denomination notes, the Sunday Times reported. — Sapa