RBS has released its first polymer £20 note featuring historic Scottish entrepreneur Kate Cranston.
The note is the bank’s first new £20 in 23 years. It is also the first Scottish note of its denomination to feature a woman other than the Queen.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Malcolm Buchanan, RBS’ Scottish board chair, said: “At RBS, we feel that a banknote’s value is more than just the figure printed across its front. It is our symbol which lives in people’s pockets and touches everyday lives.
“Kate Cranston’s legacy touches so many aspects of Scottish life that we, as a nation, are justifiably proud; entrepreneurialism, art, philanthropy and dedication. Choosing the design of the £20 note was an important decision for it is RBS’ biggest circulating note. There is currently £736m in circulation.
“On the eve of International Women’s Day it is fitting that such a figure as Kate Cranston will be celebrated on the face of our most popular note.”
Kate Cranston, from Glasgow, made her mark for her series of tearooms across the city.
Her flagship venue is celebrated by architects and designers due to its interior by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe design
The £20 note was designed in partnership with Scottish arts’ organisations and designers. These included Graven Images, Nile, Stucco, Timrous Beasties, O’Street and the Glasgow School of Art.
Additionally, the note is part of a series of nature themed notes made from De La Rue’s Safeguard material. It also contains a number of new security features.
In designing the notes, RBS, launched the People’s Money programme and engaged with Scottish people through workshops and surveys.
The back of the note features illustrations of red squirrels and the blaeberry fruit, keeping with the nature theme.
Jeni Lennox, from Nile HQ and co-coordinator of the design, said: “The People’s Money project continues to deliver delight with the design release of the third note in the series.
“It celebrates the resurrection of the icon of Scottish design in Mackintosh’s original tearoom, the foresight and ingenuity of the enterprising Kate Cranston and the cheeky indigenous survivor in our Scottish red squirrel.
“Squirrels have rarely been sketched so carefully. Hours of work go in to getting the blaeberries just right and the custom designed tweeds are constructed and detailed by our textile designers and in the midst of their renovation of the original tearoom in Glasgow, the team behind the Willow Tearooms Trust scoured the archives to find us quotes and reference portraits.”
