Paper or plastic? British pounds take a note from Australia

The Bank of England thinks paper pounds are rubbish.

Justin Loiseau

Justin Loiseau hails from the great united state of North Carolina, where he started his first business at the ripe age of five: melting crayons into candles. With the infamous Crayola Crash of 1994, Justin moved on to study economics and environmental studies as a Morehead-Cain Scholar at the University of North Carolina. He has worked in a variety of sectors across the globe, from management consulting to the United Nations, and once spent three months examining invasive snails in Vietnam. Justin discovered The Motley Fool in 2012 and it’s been love ever since. Creativity, contrarianism, kerfuffling… what more could one want? When he’s not playing the Fool, you can find Justin at the University of Auckland, where he is pursuing a Masters in Economics as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. Justin finds biogas digesters fascinating and can unicycle a mile in seven minutes.

Published September 11, 2013 1:13 pm AEST

The Bank of England thinks paper pounds are rubbish. After 300 years of cotton-based paper notes, British pounds could be switching to polymer production, a process first designed by Aussies more than 25 years ago.

According to the Bank, plastic notes are cleaner, greener, more secure, cheaper to produce, and last at least 2.5 times as long as their paper predecessors. However, Deputy Governor Charles Bean noted that "the Bank of England would print notes on polymer only if we were persuaded that the public would continue to have confidence in, and be comfortable with, our notes." A two-month public consultation period begins today, with a final decision expected to be announced in December.

If approved, five- and ten-pound notes will be the first to feel the switch, with the Churchill £5 note welcomed into wallets in 2016 at the earliest. Australia has been using plastic notes since 1988, and over 20 countries currently opt for plastic over paper, including New Zealand, Mexico, Singapore, Canada, and Fiji.

No matter how you spend money, making it is even better. Interested in our #1 dividend-paying stock? Discover The Motley Fool's favourite income idea for 2013-2014 in our brand-new, FREE research report, including a full investment analysis! Simply click here for your FREE copy of "The Motley Fool's Top Dividend Stock for 2013-2014."

More reading

Motley Fool contributor Justin Loiseau has no position in any stocks mentioned in this article. You can follow him on Twitter @TMFJLo.

Automatic Renewal

By taking up this offer, you will also be enrolled in our auto-renewal program, which is our way of making your ongoing subscription easier by ensuring uninterrupted service. Don't worry, though – you're not locked in, and can cancel your auto-renewal at any time before each 'anniversary' date without question or penalty.