New £1 Coin & £5 Polymer Banknote

The new £5 polymer note and £1 coin

The Bank of England brought the new £5 polymer banknote into circulation on 13 September 2016, with huge differences in size, texture and security features compared with its predecessor.

Firstly, the most obvious difference is that the new note is printed on polymer, made from a transparent plastic film that’s been specially coated with an ink layer.

Polymer also allows for transparent windows which are a proven protection against counterfeits, while being more durable, and resistant to dirt and moisture so they stay cleaner for longer.

The £5 is the first of the new line of polymer notes to be released by the Bank of England, with the new £10 following in 2017 and the new £20 being released in 2020.

Our Weigh, ahead of the polymer game

All of Our Weigh’s counterfeit detectors (except Safescan 30) and banknote counters are compatible with the new £5 polymer note, with some machines incorporating a special brush to avoid the static created when counting large stacks of notes.

Some devices may require a simple software update, but we offer this free of charge with the Safescan 155i, 155-S and 165i, 165-S counterfeit detectors, the 2600 series banknote counters, plus the 6155 and 6185 money counters.

Updating your device is quick and easy via the USB port or MicroSD cards – visit our download section to find your update package and instructions.

Preparing for the new £1 coin

The new £1 coin will enter circulation in March 2017 as a 12-sided, bi-metallic, bi-colour coin with milled edges. This will replace the current design which is over thirty years old. Both old and new coins will co-circulate for a period of 6 months.

As with the new £5 note, all Our Weigh machines are capable of counting and/or sorting the new £1 coins, but some machines may need an update. Again, please visit our download section to find your update package and instructions.