After 320 years of literally making that paper, the Bank of England is switching to manufacturing plastic money.
The new Winston Churchill fiver will be the first ever plastic money printed in England. The note is being launched in Churchill’s ancestral home Blenheim Palace later today, and will come in to circulation in September. It will feature Churchill’s wartime quote “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
The Churchill fiver will be followed by the plastic tenner featuring author Jane Austen next year, and the JMW Turner £20, landing in 2020.
The new notes are made from a transparent plastic film and coated with an ink layer, making them practically unrippable. They are expected to last two and a half times as long as current ones, and be able to withstand a cycle in the washing machine. Clear windows on the notes should also make them harder to counterfeit.
Plastic money was first introduced in Australia in 1988, and now over 30 countries use polymer notes, including New Zealand, Canada and Mexico.
So, the upsides – no one can rip up your hard earned P, and if you’re prone to the odd clumsy mishap, gone are the days when you find a fiver half deteriorated in your back pocket.
But some may be concerned. There are still some unanswered questions for the cash money flexers out there, when it comes to plastic cash.
Does it fold easily in a rubber band?
If you are making it rain, but people in the room are sweaty, could plastic paper be sticky?
Will it flex as easily as paper when you’re trying to spread that P like a deck of cards?
Might your cash-in-hand selfie look a bit shiny with the more reflective notes?
We will have to wait and see. In the meantime, say goodbye to your paper fivers, and prepare for the future.