Touch the value, taste the value

How do you tell which banknote is which? Look at the number printed on it? Look at the colour (not an option if the money in question is American)? What if you were blind and couldn't see either of those? Never fear, people of Australia, there will be a new type of cash in your pockets next year that the vision impaired will find easier to use. The notes will have "tactile features", or bumpy bits (similar to the markings Canada have been using since 2001), that allow people to identify their value with just a touch. They will also have brighter colours and larger numbers (for those who can still see something), while each denomination will be a different size. The Reserve Bank has been testing different designs and consulting with vision impaired people on how well they work, but the details have not yet been finalised, and until the notes have replaced the current series in circulation, it will still be a case of the blind being bowled underarm by the blind.