On 20 February the Bank of England will issue a new polymer £20 note with the image of artist JMW Turner. Then, despite recent calls to dispense with the £50 note for security reasons, in 2021 a new note featuring codebreaker Alan Turing will be issued. There are currently over 340 million £50 notes in circulation

Though polymer notes are a relatively recent development in the UK, they have of course been around for more than thirty years, with the first such notes being issued by the Reserve Bank in Australia in 1988.

The introduction of polymer notes in the UK has not been without controversy. One major issue has been the use of tallow (derived from animal waste) in the production of the notes. In response to objections from vegans and religious groups the Bank of England considered substitutes such as palm oil or coconut oil, but as well as the extra cost involved concerns were raised by conservation groups. (10 August 2017)

When the Bank of England first considered the switch to polymer notes it was claimed that they were cleaner, safer and stronger. It was anticipated that the notes would be in circulation between 5 and 6 years, 2.5 times longer than the traditional paper notes. In October 2016 (3rd) the Daily Telegraph reported that the Bank of England was 'aware that polymer bank notes begin to shrink and melt at temperatures above 120 centigrade so they can be damaged by an iron' and in January (4th) this year The Bank recognised that 50 million notes had been replaced since they were first launched, with damage including 'folds, tears, holes and foil wear'.

Bank of England research prior to the shift from paper revealed that 87 percent of those surveyed were in favour of the introduction of polymer notes.

Of course, you can't please everyone and it would be interesting to see the results of an equivalent survey today. We know there have been complaints that the notes are too slippery and easy to lose and an article in Metro (19 September 2018) noted that 'cocaine addicts using £5 notes complained that they were cutting their noses on the new notes, an injury which they called being Winstoned'. - due to Churchill's image being on the notes!

Though the introduction of any new note presents challenges, Glory's business is cash. We have experience of operating in over a hundred countries and are used to resolving issues related to cash usage worldwide. When it comes to polymer notes we have developed our technologies to enable best in class accurate and effective note processing.

It is important to stress that rather than simply weighing notes and thereby determining volume (which pre-supposes that all notes received are of the same weight), Glory's Bank of England certified technology goes further in that it recognises, authenticates and counts all notes presented without any need for pre-sorting.  When it comes to the new £20 polymer notes we're ready to go. Are you?