New $20, $50 and $100 notes are in circulation in New Zealand.

Reserve Bank head of currency, property and security, Steve Gordon believes the release of the remaining Brighter Money Series 7 notes is a significant milestone for the project to upgrade New Zealand's banknotes to make them more secure.

The public might not get to see a new note for some weeks, as the Reserve Bank distributes banknotes when it receives orders from banks.

'About 300,000 of the new Series 7 $20, $50 and $100 banknotes have been dispatched to banks to meet their orders so far.

'The Reserve Bank expects more orders to come in from retail banks over the next few months as they gradually replace old notes.”

The new Brighter Money $5 and $10 banknotes have been in circulation since October last year - 9.7 million new notes have been dispensed already.

Both Series 6 and the new Series 7 notes will circulate together, and both will be legal tender allowing the public to make payment with either old or the new banknotes.

A public awareness campaign will run for four weeks to educate the public about the new notes and their security features.

Find out about the features of the new banknotes: www.brightermoney.co.nz