Help us design our next series of banknotes

As the UK’s central bank, one of our most important jobs is to make sure that you have a choice in how you can safely pay for things, which includes providing high-quality banknotes that you can use with confidence. 

While the use of cash for transactions has declined over the past decade, it is still the preferred payment method for around one in five people and used by many more.

Counterfeit levels are low and we want to make sure the public can continue to use cash with confidence. This includes designing banknotes that have the latest anti-counterfeiting technology and that are accessible, ie with large font and tactile features to help blind and partially sighted people identify the value.

It is a complex and detailed, multi-year process to design resilient and accessible banknotes, and to print and test them to make sure they are all high-quality. So, we want to start now. 

One of the first and most important steps in the design process is the choice of images. Your views are a key part of that choice. We will provide further details on the design process in due course.  

We have identified six potential themes. These are:

• notable historical figures: This theme, which is used on our current series of banknotes – could be depicted by portraits of specific historical figures who have made an important contribution to UK society and culture. We will not represent living people on our banknotes, with the exception of the monarch.
• nature: This theme could be depicted by images of native plants, animals, or natural landscapes such as rivers, lakes, mountains or coastal scenes from around the UK. 
• architecture and landmarks: This theme could be depicted by images of iconic buildings and other places, such as castles, bridges or heritage sites across the UK. 
• arts, culture and sport: This theme could be depicted by images of the arts, music, literature, customs, food, film, television or sport which define the UK. 
• noteworthy milestones: This theme could be depicted by images of important events and movements which have shaped the UK.  
• innovation: This theme could be depicted by images of important advancements, technologies, discoveries or ideas developed in the UK. 

The public were also able to suggest other ideas for themes for us to consider. These suggestions will be assessed against our criteria, which are set out below.

In deciding what theme to use, we will consider the following criteria:

• symbolises the UK: The theme should have a direct link to, and therefore represent the UK, eg celebrating individuals from a range of fields and backgrounds who are important to UK history or specific landscapes and landmarks from different parts of the UK. 
• resonates with the public: The theme, and its importance, should be easily recognisable and meaningful to the UK public. 
• is not divisive: The theme should not involve imagery that would reasonably be offensive to, or exclude, any groups. 
• is enduring: The theme should not be too modern or relate to a recent trend, or it may become quickly irrelevant or out of date. Banknotes remain in use for many years, and their designs should remain relevant for many decades, if not indefinitely. 
• supports banknote authentication: The theme, and the images which would be used to depict that theme, should be able to work in harmony with our objective to create banknotes which are accessible, safe and secure for the public to use easily and without worry.  
• is consistent with our legal obligations: In considering what theme to feature, we will have due regard to the public sector equality duty and other relevant laws, including considering the impact on individuals who share the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010.