HSP-Asia 2025 Sets a New Benchmark in its 21-Conference Journey

The 21st edition of High Security Printing™ Asia (HSP-Asia), held in Kuala Lumpur from 1-3 December 2025, delivered the strongest performance in the event’s history. The conference set a new benchmark, attracting 337 delegates from 145 organisations across 51 countries, including 34 governments and central banks. It also raised the bar for high-quality presentations, strategic collaborations, and high-impact new product launches.

The event was held in Malaysia for the third time (following successful editions in 2006 and 2010), and reaffirmed HSP Asia as the region’s most trusted platform for innovation, insight, and partnership across currency, identity, and secure documentation.

Engaging programme with key openings

The programme opened on 1 December with two parallel workshops.

Entrust led the session on ‘Identity – The Impact of AI in Identity Documents’, examining how artificial intelligence is reshaping document security and verification.

Running in parallel, De La Rue delivered ‘Currency – The Banknote Balancing Act: Making Informed Currency Choices’, addressing cost, durability, security, and environmental considerations.

In the afternoon, John Winchcombe from Reconnaissance hosted the Cash Sustainability Workshop Asia, delivered in partnership with the International Currency Association. The session explored practical steps to reduce the environmental impact of cash and the wider cash cycle. It drew examples from Asia, the Pacific, and beyond, and encouraged open exchange, helping participants identify actionable ideas for their institutions.

Regional trends and developments

The main conference opened on 2 December with a welcome address from Abd Rahman Abu Bakar, Assistant Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, who explained that while e-payments may have increased at a compound annal growth rate of 17% between 2004 and 2024, there is still RM 171 billion of banknotes in circulation and that in 2024 the growth rate was 5.5%.

Faced with an increasing counterfeiting threat, BNM is focused on security and innovation.  Alongside that it is working on automation and innovation, particularly integrating AI into how it is managing currency.  The use cases currently being explored are predictive analytics to spot crime and to deliver smart dashboards for the management of cash in circulation.  Finally, sustainability is also an area of focus.

Following the opening address, BNM’s Shangari Subramaniam Beames and Syahrir Nadzmin Zawawi presented on how the central bank is working to recycle banknotes returned from the cash cycle.  While 70% can be reissued, the unfit notes are currently burnt for energy, generating the equivalent of enough to provide energy to 60 homes for a year.

BNM are now going beyond that to find ways to recycle both polymer and paper notes.  Polymer can be mixed with waste from other industries to create new products.  BNM has found waste companies willing to mix shredded paper waste with other paper waste to create new commercial paper.  257 tonnes of virgin polymer and 544 tonnes of virgin wood pulp have not had to be used by the substitution of recycled banknote waste, resulting in a saving of 1,561 tonnes of CO2e.

Samantha Burns of Reconnaissance, drawing on analytics from ID & Secure Document News™, presented an overview of secure document trends across India, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Some of the clearest trends include a move to digital first credentials, with trust shifting to mobile security, QR codes and signed files rather than just laminate and ink; strengthening of border authentication (eVisas, ETAs, digital arrival cards and eGates); a move to stronger  polycarbonate data pages , financing of automated biometric ID platforms and core population registries; network level ID systems; and digital authentication for service entitlements (health, banking, proof of age).

De La Rue provided an overview of the 40+ countries in Asia with its 37 issuing authorities, 4.3 billion people and 233 circulating denominations.  The traditional drivers of banknote volumes have been increasing worldwide with inflation running at 4%, population growth at 1% and GDP at 3.%.  The year-on-year increase in global banknote volumes is 5.5%.

China Banknote Printing and Minting is pioneering  the use of AI in quality analytics in banknotes through its Intelligent Banknote Quality Analytics (IBQA) programme, which aims to minimise manual inspection and optimise production. The system is designed to give immediate feedback for adjustments to be made to machines in real time based on data both from the online quality inspection systems and the end of process single note inspection machines.

Other highlights of the currency track included:

• Q&T Hi-TechPOLY-SHIELD polymer banknote substrate, with embedded features that offers a new security architecture in which optical features are integrated within the polymer substrate itself 
• SICPA’s four-pillared framework for sustainability , based on (1) product safety, (2), biorenewability, (3) production efficiency, and (4) lifecycle optimisation.
• Koenig & Bauer Banknote Solutions’ data management platform, its new foiling platform (NotaFoil, co-developed with Gietz for patch and stripe application, with integrated inspection, which replaces the OptiNota), and its new full sheet scanner. 

Innovation in identity

On the ID side, this year’s edition saw an impressive range of products and technology launches, including: 

• • Number 1 – an IOTA award-winning innovation by IQ Structures’ based on free-form nanoDOVIDs.
  • PICO – revealed for the first time, the new nano-optic, plasmonic optical variable device (OVD) for identity documents by Authentix, offering always-on-structural colour and movement.
  • CHROMA – Toppan’s new laser colour technology for producing photo-realistic, full-colour portraits on polycarbonate ID documents.
  • Certevo® – Covestro’s latest material innovation for passport covers and data pages, as well as its new prototype vehicle registration certificate, on Certevo®, which combines high durability with advanced print and laser features (.
  • A modern, integrated platform from HID Global that unifies hardware, software, consumables, and services into a single operational environment. 

Two perspectives on counterfeiting

The final session was on counterfeiting from both a currency and an identity perspective, with  Kerre Corbin of Kerrency explaining some of the latest trends in currency counterfeiting, and Michael van Gestel of Entrust showing a dystopian future where nothing is as it seems. Whilst counterfeiting overall is an issue for both segments of the high security document market, the routes and methods are markedly different.

In the case of currency, two of the main issues currently are ‘harvesting’ features from low value genuine notes and putting them into high value fakes, and prop money (banknote look-alikes with minimal marks stating they are not real), which are now flooding the market.

On the ID side, meanwhile, the major threat Is AI, which is now being used by criminals to facilitate identity fraud and create fake identities, primarily through deepfakes (synthetic audio/video) and synthetic identity fraud (combining real and fake data). This technology makes fraudulent activities faster, more convincing, and scalable, posing a significant challenge to individuals and businesses alike.

Demonstrating excellence

Running alongside the sessions was an exhibition, which brought together the largest gathering of solution providers at HSP Asia to date.

Leading names included Giesecke+Devrient, IQ Structures/Hueck Folien, China Banknote Printing and Minting (CBPM), De La Rue, Dai Nippon Printing/LAXTON/MK Smart, EVOCHEM Advanced Materials, KOMORI, Landqart, Oberthur, PWPW, Security Fibres, Jura/Parvis, Koenig & Bauer, OVD Kinegram/Kurz, Luminescence, and PURA, supported by 25 additional exhibitors.

Regional awards

A highlight of the conference was the presentation of the HSP Asia Regional Awards (HSPA). Many of them once again highlight how optical innovation and effective collaboration continue to elevate security, sustainability, and user trust across the region’s currency and identity systems.

Banknote Awards:

• Best New Series – Bank of Japan and Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan (joint winners).
• Best New Banknote – Bank of Thailand for the new 50 and 100 baht notes.
• Best New Commemorative Banknote – National Bank of Tajikistan for the new 100 somoni commemorative note.
• Best New Housenote – jointly awarded to KOMSCO for the ‘80th Anniversary of Liberation’ housenote and PERURI for ‘Housenote 4.0’, designed with a focus on sustainability and environmental awareness.

ID Document Awards:

• Best New Passport – Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the National Printing Bureau for the new 2025 Passport series.
• Best New ID Card – Immigration Department of Malaysia for the latest generation of the MAL Pass label. 

For more information on the award visit https://reconnaissance.net/design-and-innovation-in-banknotes-and-id-recognised-at-hsp-asia-2025/

The next edition of HSP-Asia will take place from 30 November to 2 December 2026 in Hong Kong, continuing the conference’s goal to promote secure printing across the region.