4 ms·

Polymer banknotes were introduced in '88 by Australia, who switched completely to polymer in '96. Other (ex-)commonwealth nations have followed suit, so it's no

Polymer banknotes were introduced in '88 by Australia, who switched completely to polymer in '96. Other (ex-)commonwealth nations have followed suit, so it's not that surprising Britain is switching as well.

jamescun 11y ago
Some Scottish banks already issue polymer-based notes.
- davb 11y ago
  With a plan to introduce more denominations in the near term [1] [2] [1] http://www.rbs.com/news/2016/april/new-p5-and-p10-polymer-notes-unveiled.html http://www.rbs.com/news/2016/april/new-p5-and-p10-polymer-no... [2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-35379892 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-3537...
kevin_thibedeau 11y ago
The question is will they be using the same Australian printer as many of the other countries that have switched to polymer notes. Seems like a big single point failure node at this point.
- 21 11y ago
  A documentary I saw said that the polymer is really special and hard to produce, so probably the method is patented.
- kuschku 11y ago
  I think the Eurozone uses a different polymer printer than Australia, so the UK might just use the same as the rest of the EU.
  - Symbiote 11y ago
    The euro is printed on paper. Romania is the only European country to use polymer notes.
    - kuschku 11y ago
      Not anymore, at all. For 2 years now it’s been on polymer: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/europa/html/index.en.html https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/europa/html/index.e...
      - davb 11y ago
        That's really interesting, I didn't know that. Does anyone know what the timescale is for phasing out paper? I seen that the website mentions parallel issuance for a period - in the last year I've visited Munich and Paris and only come across paper. I'm genuinely interested to see how the logistics of rolling out a new material will work across such a large area with so many countries and banks involved
        kuschku 11y ago
        5€ bills were replaced several years ago, 10€ bills over the course of last year, and now 20€ bills were replaced already. The old 10€ bills stopped showing up in the change I got from stores by end of 2015, and around march 2016 the old 20€ bills stopped showing up. Obviously, they’re still in use in several places. And regarding the rollout: Most banks have had to accept dozens of possible payment methods, for them one more type of bills is not an issue. Producing the money is more of an issue, but the link I mentioned before has an article about that, too.
        Symbiote 11y ago
        These new notes are paper. It says so on (1). I don't live in the Eurozone, but I have a new and old €20, and the paper is the same. I have an old €50, and a new €5, and the paper is the same. Polymer notes almost always have transparent windows, and they feel like plastic, not paper. (1) http://www.new-euro-banknotes.eu/Euro-Banknotes/PRODUCTION http://www.new-euro-banknotes.eu/Euro-Banknotes/PRODUCTION
- rogerbinns 11y ago
  Britain (and many other countries) use De La Rue - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_La_Rue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_La_Rue - for printing currency. They claim to have over 70 polymer designs and 60 million notes. http://www.delarue.com/markets/central-banks-currency/polymer.aspx http://www.delarue.com/markets/central-banks-currency/polyme...
raverbashing 11y ago
Canada also uses polymer notes now

jamescun 11y ago

Some Scottish banks already issue polymer-based notes.

davb 11y ago
With a plan to introduce more denominations in the near term [1] [2] [1] http://www.rbs.com/news/2016/april/new-p5-and-p10-polymer-notes-unveiled.html http://www.rbs.com/news/2016/april/new-p5-and-p10-polymer-no... [2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-35379892 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-3537...

kevin_thibedeau 11y ago

The question is will they be using the same Australian printer as many of the other countries that have switched to polymer notes. Seems like a big single point failure node at this point.

21 11y ago
A documentary I saw said that the polymer is really special and hard to produce, so probably the method is patented.
kuschku 11y ago
I think the Eurozone uses a different polymer printer than Australia, so the UK might just use the same as the rest of the EU.
- Symbiote 11y ago
  The euro is printed on paper. Romania is the only European country to use polymer notes.
  - kuschku 11y ago
    Not anymore, at all. For 2 years now it’s been on polymer: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/europa/html/index.en.html https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/europa/html/index.e...
    - davb 11y ago
      That's really interesting, I didn't know that. Does anyone know what the timescale is for phasing out paper? I seen that the website mentions parallel issuance for a period - in the last year I've visited Munich and Paris and only come across paper. I'm genuinely interested to see how the logistics of rolling out a new material will work across such a large area with so many countries and banks involved
      - kuschku 11y ago
        5€ bills were replaced several years ago, 10€ bills over the course of last year, and now 20€ bills were replaced already. The old 10€ bills stopped showing up in the change I got from stores by end of 2015, and around march 2016 the old 20€ bills stopped showing up. Obviously, they’re still in use in several places. And regarding the rollout: Most banks have had to accept dozens of possible payment methods, for them one more type of bills is not an issue. Producing the money is more of an issue, but the link I mentioned before has an article about that, too.
        Symbiote 11y ago
        These new notes are paper. It says so on (1). I don't live in the Eurozone, but I have a new and old €20, and the paper is the same. I have an old €50, and a new €5, and the paper is the same. Polymer notes almost always have transparent windows, and they feel like plastic, not paper. (1) http://www.new-euro-banknotes.eu/Euro-Banknotes/PRODUCTION http://www.new-euro-banknotes.eu/Euro-Banknotes/PRODUCTION
rogerbinns 11y ago
Britain (and many other countries) use De La Rue - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_La_Rue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_La_Rue - for printing currency. They claim to have over 70 polymer designs and 60 million notes. http://www.delarue.com/markets/central-banks-currency/polymer.aspx http://www.delarue.com/markets/central-banks-currency/polyme...

raverbashing 11y ago

Canada also uses polymer notes now