Documents (eg., bank notes, travellers cheques, credit cards) (10) are authenticated by scanning the documents for one or more identifying features and/or indicia (11 19), comparing the sanned features/indicia (11 19) with stored information in a database and transmitting a signal indicating the authenticity, or otherwise, of the documents (10). In another aspect, documents that are being deposited into a receptacle are scanned for identifying features and/or indicia and the features and/or indicia are recorded in a card. Access to the documents in the receptacle is possible only by the presentation of the card to a reader associated with the receptacle.