Comprehension check
Ask the following questions.
What are Canada’s bank notes made of?
Canada’s bank notes are made of durable polymer. Polymer can be used for all sorts of everyday objects, from clothing to electronics, diapers, food packaging and shampoo. The kind of polymer used to print bank notes—not just in Canada but in many other countries too—is a smooth, durable film. Canada was one of the first countries in the world to print its bank notes on polymer. Have you ever seen or used polymer notes in any other countries?
What are some of the features of polymer?
Polymer is durable—it isn’t damaged as easily as paper. A single polymer note lasts 2.5 times longer than a paper bank note, which means that it has less of an environmental impact than paper. It’s also recyclable and allows for innovative security features such as windows, holograms and extremely detailed printing. These features make Canadian bank notes harder to counterfeit.
Why are security features so important for bank notes?
It’s important to trust that your bank note is the real thing. A fake note can mean that a consumer or a business loses money. Security features on bank notes have evolved over the decades as technologies have changed. The more complex the security features are, the more difficult it is for someone to make a counterfeit, or fake bank note, that could be mistaken for a real one.
