Quite recently you will have the chance to tip the waiter in the restaurant and the movers from the man and van company delivering your goods to the door, you will have the chance to do it with the new 5 pounds note.
The Bank of England quite recently unveiled the design for the new plastic note. The banknote is going to show the portrait of Sir Winston Churchill, the former British Prime Minister. It is going to be smaller in size than the current one and is also going to be made out of plastic – or more precisely, of a material called polymer, a great leap, bearing in mind that British banknotes have been made out of cotton paper for the last century or so.
The think polymer that the new 5 pound banknotes are going to be made is basically:
- Thin, flexible, see-through film
- The design is printed on special layers of ink both on the front and the back of the note
- Since the polymer is basically see-through, there would probably be clear spots on the note, a sort of windows which would allow for you to see through it.
- Polymer is already used for printing banknotes in well over 20 countries around the world, among which Scotland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada can be listed.
When it comes to the reasons why The Bank of England has chosen polymer over paper for the new banknotes, there are several reasons that can be cited for the new material. It is:
- Cleaner – the plastic cannot become wet or dirty like the paper banknotes.
- Secure – fake notes are much harder to produce by criminals because of the nature of the see-through material.
- Durable – the plastic polymer has a much longer life expectancy than your average paper banknote. The best part is that even if you accidentally put in the washing machine along with your clothes, there are not going to be damaged at all.
After all that we have already said, there is very little doubt that the new polymer banknote are a step towards the better and there will be little to no opposition to them. The only question that remains at the present moment is when exactly we can expect the new notes to go into circulation. The Bank of England gives September 2016 as the starting date for the 5 pounds note. 10£ polymer notes are to be expected in 2016, and by 2020 we are going to have 20£ notes as well.
As we can see, modern technology is a great thing and we can expect new advances to subtly but continuously change our way of life and do so for the better. The new notes will be cleaner, more secure and will have a longer life. The technology is likely to enter other aspects of life in the near future as well. Stay tuned for more news from the Bank of England for the new notes too.