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Scotland to roll out polymer banknotes in March 2015

May 26, 2014

The Bank of England doesn’t plan to issue plastic banknotes until 2016. Not so Scotland’s Clydesdale Bank, which has announced that it will issue two million polymer 5 pound notes beginning next March.

The notes will honor Scotland’s Forth Bridge and Scottish engineer Sir William Arrol, whose company built the renowned landmark. The release of the note has been timed to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the bridge, an article by the Glasgow Evening Times said.

The planned 5 pound note to be issued by the Bank of England in 2016 will feature the likeness of Sir Winston Churchill.

The BoE has said that polymer notes are more durable, cleaner and more difficult to counterfeit than its existing notes. However, the new substrate and reduced dimensions of the note will require significant retooling by ATM operators in the U.K., who have expressed deep concern over the cost of such an undertaking.