New £10 note enters circulation

14 Sep 2017

The new polymer £10 note has entered circulation in England and Wales.

The note has been issued by the Bank of England (BoE) and depicts author Jane Austen on the back. It also includes ‘tactile’ features for the blind and partially-sighted – the first British banknote to do so.

New £10 notes will enter circulation in Scotland in the coming weeks.

Old £10 notes will be demonetised in Spring 2018: the BoE will announce a specific date closer to the time. Individuals are able to spend old notes up until this date.

The circulation of the new polymer £10 note comes following the introduction of the polymer £5 note in September 2016. The new £5 note features Sir Winston Churchill on the back. The old paper £5 note was demonetised on 5 May 2017.

Commenting on the new £10 note, Mark Carney, Governor of the BoE, said: ‘The new £10 note contains sophisticated security features which make it very difficult to counterfeit. It is expected to last at least 2.5 times longer than the current paper £10 notes – around five years – and stay in better condition during day-to-day use.’  

The BoE plans to introduce a polymer £20 note in 2020. Currently, there are no plans in place to replace the paper £50 note.

More information on the new £10 note can be found here.