The Bank of England is considering introducing plastic bank notes and will release details of its plans later on Tuesday.
Notes made of polymer, a plastic-like material, are thought to be more durable than notes printed on cotton paper, as they are currently in Britain.
Such shinier, non-tear notes are already used in a number of countries, including Canada, the home country of the new Bank of England governor, Mark Carney.
According to the Bank of Canada, they last at least 2.5 times longer than paper notes, "reducing processing and replacement costs and environmental impact".
This will be the second time bank notes have grabbed headlines for Carney since he arrived in July. During his first week in the job he sought to quell a growing row over the lack of female historical figures on British bank notes and later confirmed that the author Jane Austen would appear on £10 notes.
Carney, who introduced the polymer notes during his tenure at the Bank of Canada, has objected to them being called "plastic". In an interview with Britain's Channel 4 at the Austen note launch this year, he said: "We introduced polymer notes in Canada … There's no decision on that. In keeping with transparency and consultation, if we were to consider moving to polymer notes, which have some advantages, if we were to consider that, we would have a public consultation and announce that in due course."
Notes made of polymer, a plastic-like material, are thought to be more durable than notes printed on cotton paper, as they are currently in Britain.
Such shinier, non-tear notes are already used in a number of countries, including Canada, the home country of the new Bank of England governor, Mark Carney.
According to the Bank of Canada, they last at least 2.5 times longer than paper notes, "reducing processing and replacement costs and environmental impact".
This will be the second time bank notes have grabbed headlines for Carney since he arrived in July. During his first week in the job he sought to quell a growing row over the lack of female historical figures on British bank notes and later confirmed that the author Jane Austen would appear on £10 notes.
Carney, who introduced the polymer notes during his tenure at the Bank of Canada, has objected to them being called "plastic". In an interview with Britain's Channel 4 at the Austen note launch this year, he said: "We introduced polymer notes in Canada … There's no decision on that. In keeping with transparency and consultation, if we were to consider moving to polymer notes, which have some advantages, if we were to consider that, we would have a public consultation and announce that in due course."
