Plastic Fivers

New £5 banknote featuring Sir Winston Churchill to go into circulation from September.

15:20 07 June 2016

The new plastic fiver featuring Sir Winston Churchill was unveiledo on 2 June 2016. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said that the new banknote is so strong that it can survive “a splash of claret, a flick of cigar ash, and the nip of a bulldog.”

 

He added: "Our banknotes are repositories of the United Kingdom's collective memory and like Churchill, our new polymer notes will stand the test of time."

 

This is the first time that the bank used thin, see-through polymer instead of cotton paper, making the banknote harder to counterfeit than the current paper notes.

 

During the unveiling at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, the Bank also advised businesses about dealing with the new polymer notes, which are 15per cent smaller than the current notes.

 

Brendan Doyle, of CMS Payments Intelligence, said: "Retailers and banks are going to have to invest over £200m to change ATMs, self-service checkouts and other equipment."

 

The new design includes a see-through plastic window featuring the Queen’s portrait as well as holograms and micro lettering with letters and numbers that are only visible under a microscope.