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http://www.thenewfiver.co.uk/

Cleaner
The New Fiver is printed on polymer. This thin, flexible plastic is resistant to dirt and moisture so they don’t become as tatty as paper notes and stay in a good condition for longer.

Polymer notes are also better for the environment. This is because they last longer and so we have to print fewer notes, which means less energy is used in manufacturing and cash transportation. When a polymer note has reached the end of its life it will be recycled.

Safer
The New Fiver has a number of security features which make it even harder to counterfeit. These include the see-through window and the foil Elizabeth Tower which is gold on the front of the note and silver on the back. You can learn more about these security features and how to check your notes here. Only a tiny proportion of notes are counterfeit - 0.0075% in 2015 – but we want to stay one step ahead of the counterfeiters and these new security features help us do this.

Stronger
Each new polymer note is expected to last at least 2.5 times longer than the current paper notes. This is because polymer is stronger than paper so the notes can better withstand being repeatedly folded into wallets or scrunched up into pockets.

Goes into circulation 13th of September

Old/current ones will cease to be legal tender May 2017.

The three Scottish banks are also printing their next £5 and £10 notes on polymer. Clydesdale Bank will be issuing a polymer £5 on 27th of September, the Bank of Scotland on 4th of October and RBS in November 2016. The Royal Mint will be issuing a new £1 coin in March 2017.

..They're quite weird when you first see/handle them -- the small size seems......err...... "wrong", but I guess one'll will adapt.

Change is scary.

I remember some years back we drastically changed the way the Dollar looked. A lot of people didn't like it. Adaptation occurred though.

Will coke and candy machines accept them?

Also, will the polymer bills still roll up tightly for "nasal therapy"?

The old ones are going to stop being legal tender? That seems odd. I don’t think any US currency ever stopped being valid. Might be worth more to collectors then its face value, but you could still slap it down on the counter to buy a burger.

 kronk wrote:
Will coke and candy machines accept them?

Most vending machines like that over here don't take notes.

A £1 has been in coin format -- Scotland aside -- for quite a few years.

Well that's odd. Our's take bills. Sometimes. If the bill is crisp. And the motor in the bill slot is working. And it's not humid out.

60% of the time, it works every time.

You have a $1 bill though right ?

Smallest note we have is £5, and that would be a lot of candy !

Guess the everannoying self service/scan 3 things and wait for a disinterested assistant machines will have to be re calibrated too ?

 djones520 wrote:
Change is scary.

I remember some years back we drastically changed the way the Dollar looked. A lot of people didn't like it. Adaptation occurred though.

Yeah, every time the US treasury tries to update our currency, people whine about how it looks like "play money". Dammit, I want my money to look modern, and not like something from the 1800s.

Is this it?

Looks like monopoly money...

Wicked cool though.

As it happens we think your currency looks and feels like Monopoly money.

It all being the same size is proper daft.

Canadian currency has also changed to polymer type stuff. It's pretty nice stuff, and it doesn't crease easily.

 reds8n wrote:
As it happens we think your currency looks and feels like Monopoly money.

It all being the same size is proper daft.

We do that so blind people can get ripped off by unscrupulous vendors and store clerks. Life is unfair, and we want to be sure that they know it.

Australia has had polymer notes for... I think 20 years now? Can barely remover the change now, it's been that long. They're good, fairly durable, and you can tell them at a glance, and we've used them so long that actual paper money feels weird and fake to me.

Bit late to the game, but we've got a fair few years before we get a cashless society, so better late than never.

BitCoins! I'm still holding on to hope!

You don't ever want a cashless society.

 whembly wrote:
You don't ever want a cashless society.

Why not? It seems fairly inevitable. Paying using my contactless card is far more convenient than having to use chip and pin, let alone fumbling around in my pocket for change.

 grrrfranky wrote:

 whembly wrote:
You don't ever want a cashless society.

Why not? It seems fairly inevitable. Paying using my contactless card is far more convenient than having to use chip and pin, let alone fumbling around in my pocket for change.

I think if society had no cash you would have more pressing concerns than how quick and conveniently you can pay.

 Nevelon wrote:
The old ones are going to stop being legal tender? That seems odd. I don’t think any US currency ever stopped being valid. Might be worth more to collectors then its face value, but you could still slap it down on the counter to buy a burger.

The majority of cases out of tender notes are replaceable at the bank.
There have been exceptions, but notably only when there has been a large scale theft.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 grrrfranky wrote:

 whembly wrote:
You don't ever want a cashless society.

Why not? It seems fairly inevitable. Paying using my contactless card is far more convenient than having to use chip and pin, let alone fumbling around in my pocket for change.

Get rid of cash and all your money is accessible to the banking system. You cant avoid negative interest. Cash has a buffer as you can remove cash from the banking system entirely.

 Orlanth wrote:

Automatically Appended Next Post:

 grrrfranky wrote:

 whembly wrote:
You don't ever want a cashless society.

Why not? It seems fairly inevitable. Paying using my contactless card is far more convenient than having to use chip and pin, let alone fumbling around in my pocket for change.

Get rid of cash and all your money is accessible to the banking system. You cant avoid negative interest. Cash has a buffer as you can remove cash from the banking system entirely.

This.

I don't want the government to know that I'm buying cheap forgeworld from my friends.

 Nevelon wrote:
The old ones are going to stop being legal tender? That seems odd. I don’t think any US currency ever stopped being valid. Might be worth more to collectors then its face value, but you could still slap it down on the counter to buy a burger.

Old notes stop being legal tender, but AFAIK there's no cut-off point where you can't apply to the Bank of England to get them changed to the new ones.

The new Scottish version has been out for a while now, and I can't wait to see the reaction of London taxi drivers when I hand one over for payment

 Avatar 720 wrote:

 Nevelon wrote:
The old ones are going to stop being legal tender? That seems odd. I don’t think any US currency ever stopped being valid. Might be worth more to collectors then its face value, but you could still slap it down on the counter to buy a burger.

Old notes stop being legal tender, but AFAIK there's no cut-off point where you can't apply to the Bank of England to get them changed to the new ones.

We dropped 1 and 2 cent coins in 1992, and phased out the old paper money in favour of polymer progressively through the 90s... but the old coins and note are still technically legal tender, just no longer circulated.

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
The new Scottish version has been out for a while now, and I can't wait to see the reaction of London taxi drivers when I hand one over for payment

I've stopped even trying to use Scottish money in england, its just too much hassle. I have quite literally had less trouble using Gibraltarian money in the UK.

May 2017? Isn't that like, well, really really soon, all things considered?

I'd figure like, May 2027 :p

 Silent Puffin? wrote:

 Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:
The new Scottish version has been out for a while now, and I can't wait to see the reaction of London taxi drivers when I hand one over for payment

I've stopped even trying to use Scottish money in england, its just too much hassle. I have quite literally had less trouble using Gibraltarian money in the UK.

I've never had any trouble with Scottish money but that was when living in London, where people are a bit more used to seeing "foreign" notes. I didn't know Gibraltar had their own notes. I know the Channel Islands used to. I don't think they technically are legal tender in the UK.

 Compel wrote:
May 2017? Isn't that like, well, really really soon, all things considered?

I'd figure like, May 2027 :p

Yeah really quick. I can imagine they might have to relax this as it takes years to get currency out of circulation, never mind get enough people to realise that a change has actually happened. Unfortunately it's the BoE living in cloud cuckoo land. Rather than banning it they would be better just to let businesses take them in but make sure they go into the 'for the bank' stash rather than recirculate it.

It's an interesting question about vending machines. There are more than just sweet machines; there's quite a few other things that let you pay by cash (car park meters, photo ID booths etc etc). They are all likely to need to be updated to accept the new notes as I can imagine most will jam or not accept the plastic fantastic money.

I'm also wondering about their statements it's more environmentally friendly. Granted the production costs may be less (probably the sole reason for introducing them) but in terms on long term environmental damage (if dropped in the sea, river, toilet etc) they are likely no better than plastic b bags taking tens of years to break down and getting trapped in the ecosystem. From that perspective paper would be better as it naturally degrades rather than sitting in a landfill or incinerator to be destroyed.

Whirlwind wrote:

It's an interesting question about vending machines. There are more than just sweet machines; there's quite a few other things that let you pay by cash (car park meters, photo ID booths etc etc). They are all likely to need to be updated to accept the new notes as I can imagine most will jam or not accept the plastic fantastic money.

Very early machines were a bit rubbish with the plastic notes, particularly if they were creased, but modern machines are fine with them.

I'm also wondering about their statements it's more environmentally friendly. Granted the production costs may be less (probably the sole reason for introducing them) but in terms on long term environmental damage (if dropped in the sea, river, toilet etc) they are likely no better than plastic b bags taking tens of years to break down and getting trapped in the ecosystem. From that perspective paper would be better as it naturally degrades rather than sitting in a landfill or incinerator to be destroyed.

It's more environmentally friendly precisely because of lasts longer than paper.

Most people don't dump their cash in the ocean.

As Insaniak says, plastic is an easy to recycle resource. The reason its environmentally hazardous is because so many people don't recycle. Money likely won't suffer that problem, as most states take a vested interest in controlling their currency. Unused bills are destroyed, or in this case recycled, and most people aren't likely to throw their fivers in the trash because they're too lazy or in too much of a rush to hunt down a blue bin.

I saw plastic notes in New Zealand back in 1999 and they were fantastic. About time we introduced something similar. Only downside was, as commented earlier, it felt like you had a wallet full of Monopoly money. if they can introduce the polymer without compromising anti-counterfeit measures then this will be awesome. No more dog eared or sellotaped fivers!

Ours has a clear section, and it gets tacky during summer, or if it was in your wallet next to your ass for a while.

And they keep a fold forever! I can't get them to lie down properly in the cash register, it's always a nightmare to count the till at the end of the day. Maybe we should move over to flat wallets and no more billfolds.