The New Five Pound Note Is Coming And It’s Made Out Of Plastic!

It’s always fun when you get to say you have a lot of paper in your wallet (not that any person worth speaking to actually says that but bear with me). Sad thing is, though, you’re going to have to change that phrase to “lots of plastic” because the new £5 note has been released and it’s made of plastic!

See the problem? That’s right - everyone’s going to think you’re talking about credit cards and, as you know, there’s nothing impressive about carrying around a Barclays debit card that you’ve had since you were 13.

 

But why have they done this? Plastic’s bad for the environment, isn’t it? Well. The Bank of England’s governor Mark Carney has said this…

“These notes will stand the test of time.

Polymer marks a major innovation – it’s cleaner, safer and stronger.”

It’s also water resistant, which is cool. I’ve lost more money than I care to admit to in the washing machine.

But really, why?!

Well, again, since the notes are made from polymer, they will be able to retain their shape and hygiene for longer than the current incarnation which, in turn, leads to less printing of new notes and, therefore, they’re better for the environment.

They also offer a much higher defence against the dark arts, i.e. counterfeiting. It has a see-through window that changes from green to purple when tilted and there are also tiny letter beneath the queen’s head that are visible under a microscope.

The notes cost 7p each to print and have cost the Bank of England £70 million to develop. They will come into circulation from 13 September and, eventually, current fivers will be phased out as businesses bank their cash.

By May 2017, you will have had to have exchanged your paper notes at the bank as they will no longer be legal tender. Ten and twenty pound notes will soon follow in suit until paper becomes a thing of the past and everyone will laugh at how we used to use trees for things other than looking at… maybe.

Check out the website for all the other deets!

What do you think? Do you welcome the new plastic cash… cashtic… or not? Let us know in the comments!