Designing a Fictional Bank for TV: Custom Prop Money Explained

Why a series invents its own bank

Some productions want money that is unmistakably fictional from the first frame — a bank name that does not exist, a denomination that signals a different world, or a currency built around a show’s own internal logic. This is a step beyond standard prop cash: rather than a reduced-scale version of a real Australian or foreign note, the artwork itself is invented from scratch around the production’s brief.

The design brief that works best

The strongest custom-bank briefs give us a name, a rough visual tone (institutional and serious, playful and stylised, retro-futuristic, and so on), a denomination system, and any recurring visual motif the production wants repeated across notes. From there our custom prop money process applies: a digital proof to review, then a printed proof to approve before the full run, with reduced scale and prop markings built into the design from the first draft.

Continuity across episodes and seasons

A fictional bank that reappears across multiple episodes — or returns for a second season — needs its artwork file kept and reused exactly, not redesigned each time. We keep approved custom artwork on file so a returning series can reorder the identical design without a new proofing cycle, which matters for continuity editors checking that the same note appears in every scene.

What stays fixed even for an invented bank

Even a fully fictional bank and currency follows the same compliance rules as any other prop note: reduced scale, visible prop markings printed on the note itself, and no reproduced security features. Inventing the bank name does not change what the law and RBA reproduction guidelines require of a banknote-style prop.

Getting started

Bring your brief to the custom & branded category or send it through the contact page. Ongoing or multi-season productions should also look at wholesale pricing for repeat runs of the same design.