Dear Editor,

Why were some of the new polymer banknotes designed with such similarities, so much so that they have resulted in confusion in their daily use?

Imagine the disappointment and possibly anger many have experienced who mistakenly gave away the new $5,000 banknote for a $50 note, especially when in a hurry or at nights, and even in broad daylight. The new $1,000 and $100 polymer banknotes, like the $5,000 and $50, are also close in colour and their initial numbers. And adding to the confusion, the new $2,000, to which we are getting accustomed, looks like the new $1,000 and is often mistaken for it.

In addressing these concerns, Bank of Jamaica Governor Richard Byles on
RJR’s Beyond the Headlines on May 21, 2024 commented, in essence, that in the USA the banknotes have the same colour and we should focus on the numbers. His comment, on the surface, sounded somewhat light-hearted, but, to me, it was not amusing but rather amazing because of the way our brains function in all situations.

Human beings naturally try to figure out the easiest, shortest, and surest ways to differentiate, identify, record, and remember things, strangers, events, and new information. It is also a fact that impulses or sensations from things which are big, bright, colourful, or loud are registered first on our brains. A classic example is the colour of banknotes, which will register first on the brain before their numbers or other features. The all-green of American banknotes is a key identifying feature.

In any country where the banknotes are all the same colour, as in the USA, it is an automatic brain function that this will not be a factor used to identify them, and other features, like numbers, will be automatically used. When the colours of banknotes are different and distinct, they can serve as a means of identification, but if they are close, they can create confusion.

These are well-known facts and hence the reason I found Governor Byles’ comments amazing.

Daive R Facey

dr.facey@gmail.com