It said it expects the new bank notes to enter circulation in about 18 months’ time in mid-2024.
Furthermore, the polymer banknotes featuring the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II will still be in use as these and the notes featuring the King will be in circulation at the same time.
The new notes will only be printed to replace those that are worn and to meet any overall increase in demand for notes.
Royal guidance
The approach is in line with guidance from the Royal Household – to minimise the environmental and financial impact of the change, the Bank of England said.
Paper notes were axed earlier this year with 30 September 2022 being the last day they were legal tender.
Polymer notes are now the only legal tender in terms of cash. The first of the plastic version was the £5, which was issued on 13 September 2016, featuring Winston Churchill. The paper version was withdrawn from circulation in May 2017.
In September 2017, the polymer £10 followed, showing novelist Jane Austen on it with its paper counterpart no longer being legal tender in May 2018.
More recently, the polymer £20 note entered circulation in February 2022, when the old version started to be phased out while the paper £50 note started being withdrawn in June 2021 at the same time the new one was introduced.
Security features
Polymer notes have various security features. This includes a large see-through window and a portrait of The Queen printed on the window with the numerical value of the note and the words ‘Bank of England’ printed twice around the edge.
Other security features to look out for are a metallic image positioned over the window and coloured foil.
The £5 and £10 have gold foil on the front, the £20 note has gold and blue on the front and the £50 has gold and green. The foil is silver on the back of all notes.
On the higher denominations (£20 and £50), there is a second smaller window in the bottom corner.
