The official site of Italy's central bank

Counterfeit banknotes

Fight against counterfeiting

Counterfeiting, which is a crime under Italian law, is paid great attention by central banks since it could undermine the public's confidence in the currency if it is not kept under control.

The Bank of Italy cooperates with the other national central banks of the Eurosystem and the European Central Bank in the fight against the counterfeiting of banknotes. It also provides training on the recognition of counterfeit notes for Italian and foreign police forces and persons charged with handling large volumes of cash.

The continuous replacement of worn banknotes ensures that the cash in circulation is of a high quality and this makes it easier to detect and withdraw counterfeits.

To make the action taken to fight counterfeiting even more effective, the Eurosystem central banks have created a computerized system for the collection and monitoring of data on counterfeits (the Counterfeit Monitoring System) and organizational arrangements for bodies operating in each member state. The following are located within the Bank of Italy:
- a National Analysis Centre, charged with examining suspect counterfeit notes;
- a National Counterfeit Center set up at each national central bank and charged with coordinating the actors involved in the system and determining third parties: right of access to the Counterfeit Monitoring System.