The current Bank of England banknotes are Series G, the first British issue printed on polymer rather than cotton paper. The four denominations were rolled out by the Bank of England between 2016 and 2021, replacing the cotton Series F notes that the public had carried since the late 1990s. The polymer substrate, an Australian invention adopted by the Bank after thirty years of trial in other countries, is more durable, slightly resistant to water, and harder to forge: see polymer banknotes for the wider story of the technology.
All four Series G notes carry a portrait of the reigning monarch on the obverse and a historical Briton from arts, sciences or politics on the reverse, the convention the Bank has used since 1970. The same designs were reissued in 2024 with a portrait of King Charles III on the obverse, after the death of Elizabeth II; both portrait versions of every denomination are legal tender and circulate together.
Rollout
The Series G denominations entered circulation one at a time, beginning with the lowest and ending with the highest:
- 13 September 2016: £5 with Winston Churchill
- 14 September 2017: £10 with Jane Austen
- 20 February 2020: £20 with J.M.W. Turner
- 23 June 2021: £50 with Alan Turing
Each was unveiled at the Bank's Threadneedle Street headquarters several months ahead of issue. The portraits of the historical figure on the reverse were chosen through a public nomination process: the Turner £20 received over 29,000 nominees for the slot, the Turing £50 received nearly 230,000 across 989 eligible candidates.
The Charles III transition
Banknotes carrying a portrait of King Charles III entered circulation on 5 June 2024, almost two years after the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. The Bank kept the existing designs unchanged on the reverse, the security features unchanged, and the polymer substrate unchanged: only the portrait on the obverse and the small cameo in the see-through security window were updated. The same four historical Britons remain on the reverses.
Elizabeth II notes were not withdrawn. The Bank, in accordance with guidance from the Royal Household, chose to print Charles III notes only to replace worn Elizabeth II notes coming back from circulation, or to meet net growth in cash demand. As a result the two monarchs' portraits will circulate side by side for many years, and the Charles III notes will arrive in a tourist's wallet only slowly. Both versions are legal tender for as long as Series G remains in issue.
Withdrawn paper Series F notes
The cotton-paper Series F notes that preceded Series G ceased to be legal tender on 30 September 2022. The five-pound and ten-pound paper notes had stopped being legal tender earlier (May 2017 and March 2018 respectively, as their polymer replacements settled in), but the 20-pound and 50-pound paper notes continued until the autumn of 2022 to give the public time to spend them.
The Bank of England, unusually among central banks, will exchange withdrawn notes indefinitely. A traveller turning up at the Bank's counter on Threadneedle Street with a 1979 £5 of Wellington or a 2000 £20 of Faraday can still receive the face value in current notes; the same is true by post for any sum, with identification. The Bank treats the obligation as honour-bound, on the principle that a banknote is a permanent promise of payment by the Old Lady, regardless of which series it belongs to.