Central Banking

Acid blamed for crumbling German banknotes

German authorities revealed Thursday 2 November that more than 1,000 German banknotes have mysteriously disintegrated in recent months, possibly due to acid on the brittle notes.

Most of the notes were of less than 100 euros and have surfaced in 17 cities since June, Elke Martens, a spokeswoman for the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, was quoted as saying Thursday.

The bills "became crumbly after they were withdrawn from cash machines," she said, adding that it was the first time such damage

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FedNow – at last

The instant payment system might help fix the US’s rusty payment rails, but it also faces competition, says Dave Birch

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