RBI explores polymer ₹10 and ₹20 notes, flagging future cash-handling changes for retailers
RBI’s currency-printing arm has sought polymer substrate for a pilot of ₹10 and ₹20 notes. Polymer could improve durability and anti-counterfeiting features, but any wider rollout may require ATM, vending and cash-counting upgrades across India’s retail ecosystem.
What happened
Reserve Bank of India · RBI’s currency-printing arm has sought polymer substrate for a pilot of Rs 10 and Rs 20 notes. A broader rollout could require costly
Key facts
- 68,000 reams of BOPP polymer substrate
- 34,000 reams each for Rs 10 and Rs 20 denominations
- 500 sheets per ream
- RBI security printing expense: Rs 4,875 crore in FY2025-26
- Cash in circulation: Rs 42,52,183 crore for week ended July 17, 2026
- 57% users prefer UPI versus 38% cash
- UK ATM upgrades cost £45 million; ATM and cash-counting upgrades cost £240 million
Why this matters
Payments and retail-infrastructure companies should monitor the pilot for partnership opportunities in polymer-compatible cash handling, counterfeit detection and machine validation before committing capital.
What to watch
- RBI or Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran announcements on pilot completion, print volumes, circulation locations and technical specifications.
- Tender awards for polymer substrate, printing adaptations, note-sorting equipment or destruction/recycling capacity.
- Bank, ATM operator and cash-management-company notices requiring validator calibration or firmware updates.
- Reports of acceptance failures in vending, transit-ticketing, parking, kiosk or retail cash-recycler networks.
- A formal RBI statement linking polymer notes to counterfeit reduction, note-life economics or expansion beyond ₹10 and ₹20.
- Audit whether store cash recyclers, smart safes, self-checkout cash modules, vending machines and counterfeit detectors can be firmware-updated for polymer substrates.
- Ask cash-in-transit and cash-management vendors about polymer-note sorting, fitness testing, shredding and authentication readiness.
- Build polymer-note acceptance testing into future procurement specifications for ATMs, kiosks, ticketing machines and automated cash equipment.
- Avoid broad replacement capex until RBI confirms circulation geography, volumes, technical specifications and rollout timetable.
- Prepare cashier and loss-prevention guidance for handling unfamiliar-note appearance, tactile features and customer counterfeit disputes.