The official site of Italy's central bank

Note issue

The Bank of Italy issues euro banknotes in accordance with the principles and rules laid down by the Eurosystem and is responsible for controlling all the currency in circulation in Italy.

The Bank issues euro banknotes, which have been in circulation since 1 January 2001. As part of the Eurosystem and within the framework of the principles that govern the note issue, it produces the quantity of euro banknotes assigned to it, puts them into circulation and withdraws worn notes. It also takes part in the search for and experimentation of new security features and contributes to the definition of common standards for the quality of the notes in circulation and the fight against forgery.

The euro banknotes printed by the Bank of Italy are based on a plan for the distribution of production whereby each Eurosystem printing works is assigned two or three denominations.

In the fight against banknote forgery the Bank¡¦s cooperation with the other Eurosystem central banks has led to the creation of a computerized system for the collection and monitoring of data on forgeries ƒ{ the Counterfeit Monitoring System (CMS) ƒ{ and organizational arrangements linking different institutions. Independently, the Bank has contributed, together with the Central Antifraud Office for Means of Payment and law enforcement authorities, to training on the recognition of counterfeit notes for Italian and foreign police forces and persons charged with handling large volumes of cash.