Danske Bank will introduce its new polymer £20 note into local circulation in Northern Ireland on 20 July 2020.
Consumers can still use the existing paper £20 note, but these will be gradually phased out of circulation.
The introduction of the new £20 polymer note is a natural follow on from the £10 polymer note Danske Bank launched in February 2019.
The polymer £20 note will be slightly smaller than the paper version but it will have a similar design.
It will still feature a portrait of County Down born inventor Harry Ferguson, but there will be subtle colour and feature upgrades including a see-through section, holographic foil and a tactile feature to help blind and partially-sighted people identify the value of the note.
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Born in 1884, Harry Ferguson is synonymous with the development of the modern tractor and its hydraulic rear linkage system which remains in use today.
He was also the first person in Ireland to build and fly his own aeroplane. His portrait on the note remains unchanged, but the tractor image has been updated.
Danske Bank’s Head of Transaction Banking, Nicola McCleery said: “In recent years the banking industry as a whole has been moving towards polymer notes as they are generally cleaner, harder to counterfeit and more hard-wearing than paper notes.
“NI consumers are already used to using various denominations of polymer notes, and the time is now right to complement our polymer £10 note, with this £20 note. As we’ve kept our design quite similar to our paper note it will be easy for consumers to recognise it.”
The note will bear the signature of the bank’s chief executive, Kevin Kingston.
Danske Bank, when it traded under the Northern Bank brand, became the first UK bank to issue a ‘plastic’ note back in December 1999 to mark the new millennium.
