In Canada, the money — not just the credit card — goes plastic

Sir Robert Laird Borden gets a plastic makeover: Do we need any more proof that paper’s a dying medium? Last month the Bank Of Canada announced details about their polymer-based $100 bills, which offer more security due to the basic fact that plastic is harder to counterfeit than paper. The first ones roll off out of the mint in November, and the $50 bill will change over in 2012. “Canada’s new bank notes will have innovative security features that are easy to verify,” said the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mark Carney. “The leading-edge technology in these notes will expand the frontiers of bank note security.” And on top of all this, the money is safer from the elements than paper. Are there any disadvantages to making bills out of plastic? (Above: Samples of paper $100 bills, via Bank Of Canada’s Flickr page. | EDIT: Oshea-green points out that Australia led the way with plastic money of their own starting in 1988. Every bill they’ve made since 1996 has been polymer-based.) source

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