A new €20 banknote is to come into circulation across Euro on 25 November 2015. The European Central Bank (ECB) said in a statement last month, 2.8 million businesses already received information leaflets and motion cards about “the design and security features” of the new banknote.
The leaflet shows the steps they need to take to adapt their equipment to the new €20 banknote as well as the timeline for the launch. It also points out that banknotes can be easily checked manually, using the FEEL-LOOK-TILT method.
Extra copies of the leaflet and the motion card can be obtained from the respective national central bank.
On 24 February 2015, Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank (ECB), unveiled the new €20 banknote at a press conference at the ECB's new headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The new €20 note will be featuring a hologram portrait-window with the picture of a mythological European figure, and also changes colour depending on the viewing angle, from emerald-green to dark blue.
Mario Draghi said the new note includes an innovative security feature in the form of a “portrait window” set in the hologram. When the banknote is held against the light, the window becomes transparent and reveals a portrait of the mythological figure Europa, visible on both sides of the note.
The new €20 banknote, like the new €5 and €10 notes, also includes an “emerald number” and a portrait of Europa in the watermark.
President Draghi said: “The portrait window is a real innovation in banknote technology. It is the outcome of the Eurosystem’s work to ensure that the euro notes continue to be resilient against counterfeiting. This will reinforce the trust that the 338 million citizens across the euro area place in their banknotes.”
The new €20 note is the third in the Europa series that is gradually replacing the original series of euro banknotes introduced in 2002. The Europa series €5 banknote was issued in May 2013, and the €10 note in September 2014.
