Everything you need to know about the brand new plastic £20 notes

As with our £5 and £10 notes, the £20 will also soon be recirculated in a brand new plastic form.

With the upgrade to plastic notes – which started with the £5 back in 2016 and continued in 2017 with the £10 – the UK joined 30 other countries who already use polymer banknotes, including Australia, Singapore and New Zealand.

The new £20 will feature a self portrait of British artist Joseph Mallord William Turner next to an image of HMS Temeraire, a ship from one of Turner’s most famous works, the Blackpool Gazette reports.

Bank of England

These new polymer notes are less likely to tear than the paper ones, and they’re designed not to be damaged by moisture or dirt – it’s thought they last twice as long.

In terms of security, Sarah John, chief cashier of the Bank of England, told Which? the new £20 note will be ‘the most secure banknote yet’, adding: “The evidence is that counterfeiters find it much more difficult to produce counterfeits on polymer”.

The note comes with several security features, including a hologram that switches between the words ‘twenty’ and ‘pounds’ as you tilt it, a silver foil patch with a 3D image of the coronation crown, and a purple foil patch featuring the letter T.

It also has raised print, which will help blind and partially sighted people to identify what note it is, and an ultraviolet section which reveals the number 20 when shone under an ultraviolet light.

Bank of England

Like the introduction of the polymer £5 and £10 notes, the new twenty will be circulated in phases, and you’ll be able to use your old paper ones until it’s fully withdrawn (don’t worry, you’ll get at least six months warning of the date).

And if you don’t use all your old paper £20 notes, you can always exchange them for a plastic one at the bank.

The new plastic £20 notes are due to be released on February 20th 2020, so keep your eyes peeled…