New style £20 notes from February 2020, says NHBF

The Bank of England have shown off the new design for polymer £20 bank notes which will be introduced from 20 February 2020.

The new design features the British painter JMW Turner.  For the first time, the new notes include two windows and a two-colour foil, making them very difficult to counterfeit. 

The £5 and £10 notes already in circulation are made from polymer.  They last much longer than paper notes and also stay in better condition.  The public can continue using the paper £20 notes which will gradually be withdrawn when they’re banked.  There will be 6 months’ notice before the paper notes are no longer legal tender.

A new £50 note will follow in 2021, featuring Alan Turing who invented the Enigma machine used in the second world war.