Plastic banknotes: What you need to know

• The notes are wipe-clean and can survive a hot wash
• The notes are virtually impossible to rip
• Polymer notes are able to fold
• Governor Mark Carney led Bank of Canada when the notes were introduced there

• Polymer notes are used in more than 20 countries
• The first country to switch to polymer was Australia in 1996
• A move to polymer notes would end 320 years of paper note tradition in Britain
• Five-pound notes currently last for around two years
• Polymer fivers would last for about six years

• Old polymer notes can be recycled
• The Bank expects to save more than £100 million over a decade from the longer-lasting notes
• Polymer notes would be 5 millimetres smaller in both length and width than current notes
• The new notes are said to be more difficult to forge

Read more: Plastic banknotes could be used in UK in 2016

Read: Washed-out bank notes could soon be a thing of the past

Read: BoE to hold public consultation on plastic banknotes