Australia is a country that once successfully demonetized its currency. In 1996, the country replaced its banknotes with their plastic or polymer equivalents. The move was intended to fight financial malpractices that were growing rampant.
Like all other countries, Australia too, was facing severe problems caused by counterfeit currencies and black money. It was then that the Reserve Bank of Australia developed polymer notes with better security features.
The initial steps of the process began in 1988, when the bank issued a commemorative 10 – dollar polymer bank note. Later in 1996, all the existing currency notes were made invalid and the new ones entered circulation. They came in all denominations from 5 to 100 dollars.
As the withdrawal and replacement happened in various steps, it was not too difficult for the country to switch to a new system.
In spite of the initial costs incurred to manufacture the new notes, the move was successful and it also helped in making the country business friendly.