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The Design Council asked Conka Design to collaborate with them to look at the design of money itself and the ever-changing ways we spend it, challenging the statement that cash has had its day. Working with the Design Council Conka Design studied the impact that m-commerce, debit cards and social banking are having on the paper and coins money that has remained almost the same since 600 AD.

We set about future-proofing notes and coins with good design. Ten years from now half of Europeans believe we will be spending so much through electronic payments that there will be no notes or coins left to handle. Our designs challenge this by offering currency for the future, using today’s technology.

The concept makes use of the most modern advances in materials to deliver a simple yet future-ready money system. Manufactured from recyclable and biodegradable bio-plastics (made from plant matter), the new money system features a small internal microchip over-moulded within the plastic, ensuring counterfeiting is an impossibility.

Cheap to manufacture, durable and resilient in use. Also fully recyclable and capable of destruction by the mint when required. Utilising bio-plastics ensures it can be carefully recycled and re-used, with minimal environmental impact.
The design is based more on a credit system and less on the coin and paper system we have today. The microchips within each unit store information regarding the value of the coin or card, so it can be used within vending machines, or more accurately tracked within a shopping/retail environment.
The paper money is replaced by a similar card system which also adopts the current colours used on notes of the represented value. The cards are however much thinner, and more suitable for storage as a credit card. Written English, numerical and Braille characters also allow the vast majority of users, regardless of nationality, to distinguish between the coins and cards alongside a host of other details.

Our concept was the primary feature in issue 6 of The Design Council Magazine. We look forward to further collaborations in the future. Further information can be found on the Design Council website.