Verifying the authenticity of a banknote

In order to verify whether a banknote is authentic or not, you only need to recognize its safety features by sight and touch. To do this, you must follow some simple steps that will allow you to evaluate a banknote in just a few seconds:

1. TOUCH
the surface of the banknote and feel its texture 		2. HOLD
the banknote against the light and verify...		 3. TILT
the banknote and see...


(1) Authentic banknotes are manufactured with cotton fiber paper for 100-, 200-, 500-, and 1000-peso notes, and polymer for 20- and 50- notes. All notes are made with special inks and printing processes.

In these notes, you can feel a texture different from that of common bond paper, as well as embossing (2) on the front, which you can observe by touching the following with your fingertips: the bust-head image, the inscription “Banco de México,” the denomination, and the frame of the color-shifting ink. The latter only applies to 100-, 200-, 500- and 1000-peso notes.

You can also feel the embossing on the denomination under the diagonal lines in the see-through window that is part of the polymer notes.
 (3) Perfect register
(8) Iridescent band
(only in 100- and 500-peso banknotes)
(4) Watermark
(5) Micro-printed thread
(except for 200- and 1000-peso banknotes)
(9) Color-shifting element
(6) Security thread
(except for 20- and 50-peso banknotes)

(7) See-through window
(only in 20- and 50-peso banknotes)

To observe this security feature there is no need to place the banknote against the light.
(10) 3D thread
(only in 200- and 1000-peso banknotes)

Additionally, when using a magnifying glass, you will be able to identify the micro-printed text (11) and the linear backgrounds (12). And when placing the back of the notes under ultraviolet light (also known as “black light”), you will identify the fluorescence (13).

Security features in currently manufactured banknotes