New plastic £5 notes might stick together BUT only if you’ve got a large wad of cash
The Bank of England said that the brand new polymer notes can sometimes stick together but that the flaw is fixed once they are used
BRAND new plastic £5 notes go into circulation in England and Wales today with a warning that they may stick together.
However, regular shoppers may not need to worry too much as the flaw only occurs when large piles of the new polymer note are stacked together.
The Polymer fivers, which bear a portrait of Winston Churchill, are 15% smaller than the paper notes they are replacing and are said to last more than twice as long.
The plastic notes are difficult to tear and can survive being put through the washing machine and other spills.
A small plastic £10 note featuring novelist Jane Austen will go into circulation next summer and the £20 polymer note, featuring the artist JMW Turner, is due by 2020.
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The warning about the notes being hard to separate was issued by The Bank of England, it said in an official Q&A sheet: “Brand new polymer notes can sometimes stick together, but this effect is short-lived once in use.”
However, it also told The Sun Online that the issue would never happen with just one or two notes.
Britain is joining the list of more than 30 countries that already use plastic banknotes, including Australia which adopted the notes in 1988, and Singapore and New Zealand.
Today there are more than 30 countries who print their currency onto the thin and flexible plastic.
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