Toronto Globe and Mail
OTTAWA — Canada's paper money is going plastic.
Starting in late 2011, the Bank of Canada will replace the country's cotton-paper bank notes — prone to wear and tear — with synthetic polymer ones that last two to three times as long.
These far-hardier bills won't be indestructible — a flame is still a threat, for instance — but they will be virtually waterproof, meaning Canadians need worry no longer if their bank notes go through the washing machine by mistake.
The Bank of Canada is staying mum on the specific technology.
Plastic bills introduced in Australia and elsewhere apparently harbor fewer germs because their slick surface makes it harder for bacteria to cling to the money.
Dirty money is not a theoretical risk. Swiss scientists in 2007 demonstrated that some strains of flu virus could live for up to 17 days on bank notes. The most common flu strain lasted 72 hours.
Bugs aside, the new bills also will be less grubby. That's because the nonporous surface will not absorb sweat, oil or other liquids such as drinks. "They are very resistant, durable and clean," Bank of Canada spokeswoman Julie Girard said of the new currency.
The change is meant to reduce the cost of printing bills and create a currency that's much harder for the casual counterfeiter, at least, to fake.
Ottawa will rely on a sole supplier — an Australian company — of the special polymer bank-note material.
Plastic bank notes, developed in Australia, tend to cost more to print than paper currency, but Girard said Canada will end up having to print far fewer bills overall, which is where the savings will accrue.
Plastic notes also perform better in automated vending machines.
Article Courtesy of the Seattle Times
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