The Bank of England has announced plans to put around £4bn
worth of £5 banknotes in circulation this year – a ten-fold
increase on 2010.
The move is part of a Bank of England
initiative to improve the quality of £5 notes, whose average
lifespan is one year. Also to bolster the presence of the fivers,
heavily missed for years among the public.
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“A key objective for the Bank is to maintain
public confidence in the currency, by meeting demand with
good-quality genuine banknotes that the public can use with
confidence,” said Bank of England governor, Sir Mervyn King.
Last month, more than 5,000 ATMs were
dispensing £5 banknotes, compared to 670 in 2009. £5 notes can
be now withdrawn at around one in eight ATMs in the UK, according
to the Bank of England.
Increasing the flow of £5 notes required
changes into the Note Circulation Scheme (NCS) and ATM networks had
to improved software and storage solutions to dispense £5
notes.
Ten banks and building societies are involved
in the initiative, including Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC, RBS or
Santander.
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By GlobalDataThe Bank of England initiative demonstrates
that although cash-less payments have a bright future ahead, cash
is still a preferred method of payment for many UK consumers.
