OREANDA-NEWS. June 04, 2010. Eesti Pank conducts trainings intended to commercial banks and larger retailers. The purpose of the trainings is to introduce the security features of the euro and speak about counterfeit cash. The trainers are top experts from the Bank of Finland, Finnish National Bureau of Investigation and Nordea Pankki Suomi Oyj, reported the press-centre of Eesti Pank.

Paavo Perttu, Head of Currency Technology Division of the Bank of Finland shares his experience on the euro and its security features. Panu Osanen, Detective Sergeant from the National Bureau of Investigation, and Marja-Leena Monttinen, Expert from the same institution, speak about counterfeit euro cash. Kirsti Lehtonen from Nordea Pankki Suomi Oyj teaches how to check the authenticity of euro banknotes in cash transactions. Seminars end with practical exercises using samples of genuine and counterfeit banknotes.

On Tuesday, the same experts carried out a very thorough training to cash experts of Eesti Pank and the police.

The Wednesday and Thursday trainings take place in the conference centre of the Hotel Olumpia and are attended by representatives form commercial banks, larger retailers, service enterprises and professional associations. They will be trained to train employees of their own institutions. About one hundred people receive the free of charge training and instructions for further work this week.

In September, Eesti Pank is going to conduct trainings for cash handlers in all county seats across Estonia. Participants will receive an overview of euro security features and guidelines on how to recognise counterfeits and what to do if there is the counterfeit doubt. The schedule of the training programme will be approved after the official decision regarding the adoption of the euro in Estonia and it will be published on the web site euro.eesti.ee. Information on the trainings will also be disseminated with the help of media and local governments.

In addition, Eesti Pank, in cooperation with the European Central Bank, will launch an advertising campaign in autumn to introduce euro security features to the general public.
The purpose of the training programme is to raise the awareness of cash handlers and general public of euro cash in order to minimize the spread of possible counterfeit banknotes.