Cleaner, safer and stronger – that was the superhero-styled sell for the new plastic five pound note.
The Bank of England was keep push through the new bit of currency late last month in an effort to clamp down on money counterfeiting.
But according to people on social media, the new waterproof polymer £5 note has a little problem.
Namely, it shrinks if you get it a bit hot.
Comedian Ryan Swain recently went viral after sharing an image of the new five pound not after it had apparently been through the tumble dryer.
Giving a whole new meaning to the term “money laundering”.
While this particular image looks like it might be a cheeky Photoshop job, there actually truth behind the idea that heat really messes with the new notes, and there are other much more convincing pictures which show the effects.
Word of advice: Don't iron the new fiver 😂 pic.twitter.com/IyYyHeeI85
— Kevin Nicholson (@KevinNicholson_) September 18, 2016
BBC Personal Finance Correspondent Simon Gompertz explained how the new note worked.
Bank of England on new plastic fiver: they shrink and melt at temperatures above 120°C, so they can be damaged by an iron for example.
— Simon Gompertz (@gompertz) June 2, 2016
So, if you’re the type of person who likes to iron their notes to get them flat (they’re out there, don’t be shy), we advise you to give the new new plastic fiver a miss.
Otherwise you end up with stuff like this:
https://twitter.com/myneighbourlily/status/781139654456250368
To really hammer it home how melty the new fiver is, grime star JME shared some images of people who had attempted to put the new note in the oven.
Don’t get your new fivers hot. Otherwise they come out looking a bit £3.50.
