Counterfeit Notes

The Central Bank is advising the public to be vigilant when completing their cash transactions, since there tends to be an increase in the presence of counterfeit notes at this time of year. Quite recently a number of counterfeits has been brought to the attention of the Bank and these include small denomination notes as well as the large denominations.

The Bank advises that the best approach is a thorough familiarity with the main security features of the genuine notes including the unique 'feel' of notepaper.  

The Bank wishes to remind the public of the following essential features of genuine notes:

Watermark
The watermark depicts an outline of the island of Barbados, which is positioned on the left hand side of the note when viewed from the front. The watermark can be viewed by holding the banknote up to the light.

Security Thread
Each note contains a security thread located to the left of the center of the note. The complete thread and text, reading CBB$20, CBB$50 or CBB$100, according to the denomination of the note, can be seen when viewed against the light.  In the $2, $5 and $10, however, the denomination does not appear on the thread.

The Central Bank also wishes to advise that counterfeit notes are of no value and   anyone who comes into contact with fake notes should inform the Royal Barbados Police Force.