AR App reveals secrets of Swiss banknotes

What is the scribble on the new 1000-franc note for and what security features does the ninth series have? An app from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) answers these questions.

If you want to impress and entertain your work colleagues or friends at your next coffee party, you can use this knowledge to your advantage: Swiss money is full of symbols, watermarks and security features - many of which are not recognisable as such at first glance. With the ninth note series, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) has therefore also launched an app with augmented reality (AR). It should make it possible to discover the new notes in detail.

The SNB has not yet disclosed how much it paid for the development of the software. Anyone interested can download the Swiss Banknotes app free of charge from the Apple and Play Store. After starting the app, you hold one of the new notes in front of your mobile phone camera and off you go.

The animations

The first thing you see on the screen when scanning a note is an animation: a clockwork mechanism appears on the 10 note, butterflies fly out of the note on the 20 note and dandelion seeds cavort above the 50 note. Depending on whether you hold the front or back of the note under the camera, different animations appear.

Motif

If you are wondering why the firmament is depicted above the globe on the 20 note or what the Suone on the 100 note is all about, the app will help you with short explanatory texts. Various thematic features are highlighted and explained on the mobile phone screen.

Security features

The app also highlights various security features such as the security strip or the watermarks. However, as the SNB emphasises, the app cannot be used to check the authenticity of the notes. In the test, printouts of notes with the "Specimen" lettering and images of banknotes on the PC screen also worked without any problems. That would be a real added value if you could really check sheet music with it.

UV and microtext

Some elements of the notes only appear under special conditions, for example when the banknote is placed under ultraviolet light (UV) or a magnifying glass. If you don't have a UV light source or magnifying glass to hand, you can still use the app to see how the note changes under different light and what is written in the microtext on the banknote.

Source: 20 Minuten / Youtube