A new plastic £5 note featuring Sir Winston Churchill has entered circulation today – and amazingly it can survive a spin in the washing machine.
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From 13 September, the £5 plastic notes will be available from many cash machines and bank counters across the UK.
“The Bank of England’s main role is making sure we’ve got enough of the notes and then working with the wholesale cash industry to make sure they spread the notes around the country”, explains Ms Cleland.
The polymer plastic note also has new security features which will make it harder to counterfeit.
The Bank of England says the notes will be more robust, and expects them to last around five years longer than the paper version. Polymer is resistant to dirt and moisture, and lasts around 2.5 times longer than paper.
New security features include a see-through portrait of the Queen with a colour-changing border, gold and silver foil representations of Big Ben, three holograms, micro-lettering and raised print.
Can I still use the old style paper £5 notes?
To help vision-impaired people tell the difference between denominations, the new notes will have similar colouring to existing ones as well as bold numerals.
The old £5 note will be legal tender until May 5 next year.
The new notes have been described as “slippery when new”, although this will fade over time.
In March 2015 in Scotland, Clydesdale Bank issued two million £5 polymer banknotes to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Forth Bridge.
Bank of England governor Mark Carney said: “Polymer marks a major innovation”.
The plastic notes are hard to tear and can survive being put through the washing machine and other spills.
Londoners can visit the Bank of England to get their hands on one of the first new fivers. If you still have any left after that date, you can exchange them at the Bank of England.
The new five pound note is coming into circulation and to stop any confusion, here’s a guide to everything you need to know about the new fiver.
For now £5 notes will be put into circulation while £10 and £20 plastic notes will subsequently be launched soon.
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For the first time ever, the notes feature a transparent window covered by a portrait of the Queen and a metallic image of Elizabeth tower, both of which are specially created to improve security.
