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Should we switch to plastic bank notes?

23 September 2013

The Bank of England is planning to scrap paper bank notes in favour of polymer (plastic) notes, as used in Canada and Australia. They’re more durable than paper notes and they survive money laundering – being put in the washing machine – but not ironing. They can be folded, but aren’t as easy to roll in a wad. Concerns so far include cleanliness and whether they can be used for magic tricks. The Bank of England is asking for feedback. We’ll be sending it the results of this poll. Which of these is closest to your view?

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The Bank of England is planning to scrap paper bank notes in favour of polymer (plastic) notes, as used in Canada and Australia.

They’re more durable than paper notes and they survive money laundering – being put in the washing machine – but not ironing. They can be folded, but aren’t as easy to roll in a wad. Concerns so far include cleanliness and whether they can be used for magic tricks.

The Bank of England is asking for feedback. We’ll be sending it the results of this poll.

Which of these is closest to your view?

Results

Sounds great – I’ve used them elsewhere and they’re a big improvement 3,288 votes (31 %)
Sounds good – never tried them, but they sound an improvement 3,475 votes (32 %)
I don’t really care one way or t’other 1,952 votes (18 %)
They sound awful – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it 1,680 votes (16 %)
Undecided 359 votes (3 %)

                   10,754 votes received.

We try to use technology to limit voting to one per person. Occasionally, this may erroneously block a few people's votes (eg, from shared offices). Apologies for that.

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