A hybrid paper-polymer banknote or Composite Substrate is a banknote made from a mixture of paper and polymer substance.
Hybrid banknotes are essentially a paper banknote with a polymer patch. A polymer patch/band is applied vertically over the entire height of paper banknote, thus creating a clear window. The height of the polymer window generally measures 74 mm depending on the height of the banknote × 16 mm. Its thickness is 25 microns. Bulgaria was the first country to produce a hybrid paper polymer banknote, in a denomination of 20 Bulgarian Leva in 2005. [1]
Manufactures of hybrid banknotes include Giesecke+Devrient's Hybrid [2] and Varifeye, [3] De La Rue's Optiks, [4] Louisenthal's Hybrid, [5] Landqart AG's DuraSafe [6] and Banque de France's EverFit. [7]
The countries and monetary unions which use hybrid banknotes include:
- Armenia [8]
- Russia [9]
- Morocco [10]
- Qatar [11]
- Switzerland [12]
- Burundi [13]
- Jamaica [14]
- Eswatini [15]
- Tonga [16]
- South Africa [17]
- Seychelles [18]
- Lesotho [19]
- Bermuda [20]
- Oman [21]
- Bulgaria [1]
- Fiji [1]
- United Kingdom (Scotland) [22]
- Kazakhstan [1]
- Iceland [23]
- Iraq [24]
- the EU [25]
- Bhutan [26]
- Madagascar [27]
- Mauritania [28]
- Tajikistan [29]
- Zimbabwe [30]
- Bahamas [31]
- Latvia [1]
- Solomon Islands [32]
- Papua New Guinea [33]
- Cambodia [34]
- Comoros [35]
- UAE [36]
- C.CFA [37]
- Suriname [38]
- Malaysia [39]
