Discussions at the central bank over whether to replace the tatty paper fiver with a tougher polymer version started in 2010. One of the main reasons for the move to polymer is to improve bank note durability. The Bank’s governor, Mark Carney, announced the move to polymer notes in 2013, shortly after he arrived in the UK from his native Canada, where polymer bank notes were already in use. But as the the Bank gradually withdraws the old fivers, it expects that by early January half of £5 notes in circulation will be polymer. The future of cash is a question that also comes up among our panel of bank note previewers.

Source: The Guardian September 12, 2016 15:45 UTC