SICPA's BullionProtect® security solution for the gold market.
The Swiss-based security ink and solutions provider SICPA is best known as a leading supplier to the banknote industry. But it has recently extended its operations – into the gold market with the launch of BullionProtect®, which is now being used by Indonesian bullion producer Hartadinata to provide more confidence in gold bar trading.
Despite recent volatility, the price of gold has gone up in recent years, giving criminals an opportunity to capitalise on the increase by introducing counterfeit products into the market. The most common way to counterfeit gold bars is to plate base metal with real gold, and fraudulently stamp these with the logos of legitimate refineries. Alternatively, counterfeit kilobars are made with high purity gold, but with forged serial numbers and hallmarks imitating reputable manufacturers.
BullionProtect® is designed to prevent faked or counterfeited gold bars that could be mistaken for genuine ones. It has been jointly developed with the Swiss-based refiner and coating specialist Metalor Technologies in line with LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) guidance, and is an integrated solution comprising a security image applied directly to the bar and bespoke validation devices.
The security image, or seal, is based on SICPA’s OASIS®, an ink solution based on liquid crystal pigments, which produces a colour-changing design effect when viewed under a polarising filter. The ink adds negligible weight (<20 mg) to the bar. Verification can be made in seconds, with a credit sized validator with two polarising lenses; under one the design turns green and under the other the pattern brightens.
The visual authentication can also be performed with a specific flashlight – which is best suited for poor lighting conditions or large volume verification and which reveals, through two alternating beams, the same colour and pattern changes as the credit card-sized validator. With the flashlight option, up to 100 secure seals can be validated per minute.
In addition to the visual elements, a unique QR code is also embedded in the image, readable by any smartphone.
According to SICPA, the solution enables all actors within the supply chain to authenticate precious metal products. Since 2020, more than 400,000 kilobars of gold have been marked with BullionProtect® globally.
