PICTORIAL EXPLAINER: How to identify fake new naira notes

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released security features to help identify fake new naira notes.

According to CBN’s template, the Security features to look out for are the following; 

• Intaglio: This is when the image on the naira note is incised into a surface, and the incised line or sunken area holds the ink. 
• Portrait watermark: A watermark is a logo, piece of text, or signature superimposed onto a photograph. Watermarks are typically transparent, so those viewing the image can still admire it. The new naira notes’ watermark is in portrait form, as seen in the illustrations.
• Optically Viable Ink (OVI): The light reflects off OVI security ink when viewed at an angle. The light makes the ink’s colour appear different compared to looking at it straight. In many use cases, OVI may be transparent when viewed directly but takes on colour when viewed at an angle. For instance, the OVI in the new naira notes changes from blue to green with a change in the view angle.

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• Kinegram: This is one of the easiest ways to identify counterfeit notes. It provides quality identification and security features for the new naira notes. The Kinegram is made of the You’ll see an image of the Nigerian Coat of Arms in the original new N1000 note.
• Iridescent band: A symbol at the top of the new N1000 note changes when seen from different angles.
• Engraved portrait: The picture of Nnamdi Azikiwe in the new N500 note is being carved into a surface. The portrait is painted or sketched on the right side to enable you to identify the original.

See the details and position of the security features as highlighted in the images below:

Source: CBN