Registered vs Bearer Notes: A Tale of Two Titles

So, What Are We Talking About?

In the glitzy world of debt instruments – yes, we said glitzy, don’t laugh – there are two headline acts: registered notes and bearer notes. One likes keeping tabs. The other prefers to ghost you.

This article lifts the lid on why both types exist, how they’re treated under English law and abroad, and why – in a world that’s gone fully digital and under constant regulatory surveillance – we still bother talking about pieces of paper that might as well be treasure maps.

We’ll also meet the modern-day hero of settlement systems: the global note. Think of it as the legal duct tape holding the system together while everyone pretends they’re not using paper anymore.