Plastic fantastic: BoE launches the New Fiver

Six years in the making, the first polymer plastic banknote was put into circulation on Tuesday by the Bank of England, featuring Sir Winston Churchill.

It is supposed to smaller, cleaner, safer and stronger than the original paper £5 note and can even withstand a spin in the washing machine.

About £440m of the polymer notes have been printed and will last about two and a half times longer than the current generation of fivers and will reduce future production costs.

The polymer plastic note also has new security features which will make it harder to counterfeit.

It will be adorned with the image of former war-time Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, replacing prison and social reformer Elizabeth Fry, and the quotation, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”.

The Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said: “The New Fiver commemorates one of the greatest statesmen of all time, Winston Churchill, who remarked that ‘a nation that forgets its past has no future’.

“Banknotes are repositories of the United Kingdom’s collective memory, and we will be reminded of Churchill’s enormous contributions as he once again becomes part of our daily lives as the New Fiver flows out into tills and pockets.”

Next summer the central bank will also introduce a new polymer £10 note featuring author Jane Austen, followed by the £20 note featuring Romanticist painter JMW Turner by 2020.

BoE chief cashier Victoria Cleland, whose name will be on every new £5 note, had toured regional roadshows to gauge the opinion of members of the public and retailers. Around £70m was spent on research, printing and development of new security features for the banknote.

Cleland said: “The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, and I have been struck by their enthusiasm to start using the notes. The bank has been working with the cash industry throughout this important and exciting project and we’re grateful for their efforts in making the introduction of the New Fiver a success.”

The New Fiver will take a few weeks to spread across the country to businesses and banks.

The old paper £5 will cease to be legal tender and will no longer be accepted by shops after May 2017, and will have to be exchanged at the BoE.

Three Scottish banks will issue polymer £5 notes, Clydesdale on 27 September, Bank of Scotland on 4 October and the Royal Bank of Scotland on 27 October.

The Royal Mint said they will also be issuing a new £1 coin in March 2017.