Public asked to help select UK wildlife to appear on new banknote series

Key dates

Summer 2026

- The Bank plans to run a second consultation on the specific wildlife options to feature on the new series

End of 2026

- The Bank intends to announce the outcome of the consultation and final design direction

03 June 2026

- The Bank of England launches the public consultation on wildlife imagery for the next series of banknotes

03 July 2026

- The consultation closes

TBD (multi

year process; after 2026); - The Bank will complete detailed design, testing, printing, and rollout of the new series, which it says will take several years

Suggested considerations

• Review internal cash and branch readiness plans to account for a future change to the visual appearance of UK banknotes.
• Monitor the Bank of England’s consultation outcomes so denomination-specific handling, ATM, sorting, and authentication procedures can be updated in time.
• Update customer communications and frontline scripts to reflect that the next series will feature wildlife imagery, while retaining the monarch’s portrait.
• Validate that note-recognition, counterfeit-detection, and cash-acceptance systems can accommodate new denomination designs once specifications are released.
• Track the Bank’s second consultation in summer 2026 if your organisation relies on cash logistics, cash processing, or public education materials.
• Ensure operational teams are prepared for a multi-year transition period in which current and new series notes may circulate together.

What changed

• - The Bank has opened a consultation on selecting four distinct native wildlife images for the central design of the next series of banknotes, one for each denomination from £5 to £50.
• The eligible imagery is limited to a published shortlist; the Bank is not seeking alternative nominations and will only consider animals on that list.
• The shortlist spans mammals, birds, and amphibians/insects/fish, reflecting the Bank’s intent to represent different UK environments across the banknote set.
• The Bank will select up to two examples from each category in the consultation, but the final selection may not match the highest-voted options.
• The Bank will retain a portrait of the monarch on the next series, alongside additional wildlife and nature elements.
• The design process is explicitly tied to counterfeit resilience, accessibility, and updated anti-counterfeiting technology.

Who is affected

• Banknote printers, security-feature vendors, and cash-technology suppliers
• Banks and cash-handling institutions
• Retailers and cash-intensive businesses
• handling procedures when the new series launches.
• Payments and cash-infrastructure operators
• facing cash acceptance.
• Regulatory and compliance teams
• Public-sector and consumer-facing organisations