It’s a big year for banknotes. A new £5 note will be issued by the Bank of England in September, and will be followed by a new £10 note in summer 2017 and new £20 note by 2020.
The Bank of England has been issuing banknotes for over 300 years. These have evolved from handwritten paper notes signed by the Bank’s Cashiers in the 17th century to the high quality paper printed banknotes containing a range of complex security features seen today. The new notes will be printed on polymer ‐ which is cleaner, safer and stronger than paper – incorporating security features that make them more difficult to counterfeit. The new notes will be smaller than the current paper notes.
Victoria Cleland, the Chief Cashier, pictured, said ‘polymer ‐ incorporating complex windows and sophisticated security features ‐ delivers a leap forward in counterfeit resilience’. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney unveiled the design, at Blenheim Palace, Churchill’s place of birth. Carney said: “Importantly, using polymer means we can incorporate better security features. It allows for see-through panels, coloured foils, detailed metallic images, and a new advance: tactile features.”
Tactile features will be present on all the other denomination polymer notes, leaving the new fiver identifiable by their absence. “This all means safer banknotes, with the tactile feature helping the visually impaired to recognise our different notes, ensuring the nation’s money is as inclusive as possible.”
All retailers and businesses that handle cash need to prepare. The new £5 note will be issued on September 13 and, by January, around half the paper £5 notes will have been replaced with polymer £5 notes. The paper £5 note will be withdrawn from circulation in May 2017.
Machines that handle cash need to be updated, and you should aim to do this before September 13. The first step is to make sure you know which cash handling machines are used by your business. Then you need to talk to your suppliers. For most machines, a software update will be needed.
Staff need to be trained to recognise the new notes, the Bank adds, and training materials are available free, from the Bank of England. For example, there’s a short video that introduces the key features of the new notes in 90 seconds, a smartphone app, and a range of posters and leaflets.
For more information, go to www.thenewfiver.co.uk.
Banknote checklist
Features to look for on the new polymer £5 note; remember, do not rely on one feature, check a few.
‐ check the see‐through window and the clearly defined portrait of the Queen
‐ Check the Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) is gold on the front and silver on the back
‐ Check the foil patch changes from ’Five’ to ‘Pounds’
‐ Check the coronation crown appears 3D
‐ Check the ultra‐violet feature.
Training materials are available on the Bank of England website: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/educational.aspx.
About the launch: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/news/2016/053.aspx.
