The Central Bank of Barbados is aware of images and videos circulating on social media purporting to show a counterfeit polymer Barbadian banknote. While the Bank will never confirm the authenticity of any note without first having physically examined it, some of the security features found on genuine Barbadian polymer notes, such as the transparent window, are visible in the images. Rather than being a counterfeit, the note appears to have been damaged, resulting in the holographic image of the Parliament Buildings, usually found on the $20 denomination, no longer being present.
The Bank confirms that to date it has received no fake notes from the 2022 polymer banknote series, but reminds the public that the notes are not impossible to counterfeit. It therefore encourages people to continue to check their money using the security features incorporated in them. In addition to the hologram, these features include:
- A transparent window near the bottom of the note
- The note’s denomination appearing in the patterned broken trident on the top right of the notewhen it is held up to the light
- A raised shape at the back of the note beneath the large denomination numeral. The shapevaries depending on the denomination. On the $20, the shape is a circle
- Elements of the note that fluoresce under UV light.The Bank also encourages anyone with a note they suspect to be counterfeit to take it to a commercial bank or to the Central Bank of Barbados.
