Bank of England to roll out plastic bank notes by 2016
The Bank of England has vowed to tear up the paper currency which Britons have carried for hundreds of years and replace them with a new range of plastic £5 and £10 banknotes which promise to be more durable and cost-effective.
From 2016 around 350m polymer £5 notes bearing the visage of Sir Winston Churchill are expected to be in circulation alongside 800m plastic tenners bearing a depiction of novelist Jane Austen.
Thus far no decision has been taken as to whether to apply a similar transformation of £20 and £50 notes.
Outlining its rationale for the switch the Bank says that polymer printing will cut production costs by a quarter, equivalent to £100m, over the next decade. It is also expected to stem rising losses from counterfeiting.
Proponents also assert that the new-look notes will be more environmentally friendly, durableand can be easily folded into wallets.