New polymer banknotes have been issued today by Northern Ireland’s three issuing banks, Ulster Bank, Bank of Ireland and Danske Bank.
New £10 polymer banknotes have been issued by Northern Ireland’s Ulster Bank, Danske Bank and the Bank of Ireland today, with additional £5 notes issued by Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland.
It is the first time that the Northern Ireland banks have issued circulating banknotes on polymer, following the lead of the Bank of England which is currently in the process of issuing its polymer banknote series.
All of the Northern Ireland banknotes have been printed by De La Rue on its Safeguard® polymer substrate.
Ulster Bank
The Ulster Bank banknotes have been designed vertically, a first for UK and Northern Ireland banknotes.
The design of the notes are based on the theme “living in nature”. The £5 banknote features illustrations of Strangford Lough and Brent Geese, while the £10 version shows Lough Erne, an Irish hare and Guelder-rose shrubs.
Security features include a clear window and an optically variable ink feature, reportedly De La Rue’s SPARK® Orbital™ feature.
Images courtesy of Ulster Bank.
Danske Bank
Images courtesy of Danske Bank.
The design of the new £10 banknote from Danske Bank is similar to the current paper version. It keeps a predominantly green colour scheme and portraits of John Dunlop, inventor of the well known pressurised tyre, shown on the front of the note and the pediment sculpture of Belfast City Hall on the reverse. Several polymer specific features have been included including a clear window and optically variable ink, thought to be De La Rue’s SPARK® Orbital™ optically variable ink feature. It also includes a series of raised dots designed to assist those with visual impairments to identify the note’s denomination.
Bank of Ireland
Images courtesy of Bank of Ireland.
The design of the Bank of Ireland polymer note is similar to its paper predecessor banknotes, but like the other Northern Ireland banks, its latest design includes an optically variable ink feature presumed to be De La Rue’s SPARK® Orbital™, as well as a clear window feature.
It will release its new £20 polymer banknote in 2020.
Read the Bank of Ireland press release
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