A new £20 has officially entered circulation across the UK today.

The new polymer £20 note features world-renowned artist J.M.W Turner and first unveiled last year.

It will last longer than paper alternatives due to its polymer makeup and should remain in better condition during day-to-day use.

The new note joins the Churchill £5 and the Austen £10, along with a new £50 note featuring Alan Turing which is set to be issued in 2021.

The Bank of England has suggested that the new £20 is the most secure banknote yet though, incorporating two windows and two-colour foil sections - making it very difficult to forge.

The public will begin to see it for themselves from today (February 20) as it enters general circulation through banks and building societies across the UK.

Who is on the new note?

The Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, with a concept image of the new £20 bank note

It was announced in 2016 that J.M.W Turner would appear on the next £20 bank note, with the individual described at the time as "perhaps the single most influential British artist of all time."

Mark Carney, Bank of England Governor, said that the banknotes "celebrate the UK's heritage" and "testify to the achievements of its most notable individuals."

Turner was a romantic landscape painter who was world-renowned for his oil painting of the English countryside.

After officially unveiling the note in 2019, Mr Carney added: "Turner's contribution to art extends well beyond his favourite stretch of shoreline

"Turner's painting was transformative, his influence spanned lifetimes, and his legacy endures today.

"The new £20 note celebrates Turner, his art and his legacy in all their radiant, colourful, evocative glory."

Will I still be able to use the paper £20 note?

The new note will become the standard £20 in circulation

The new polymer £20 note will be replacing the paper alternative which has been in use for years.

The Bank of England will however still accept the latter until it is officially withdrawn from circulation, with a date yet to be announced.

Even once a withdrawal date has been confirmed, there will be a six month notice period before the paper note becomes 'withdrawn.'

And if you still have paper notes after this period, it's believed that many banks and the Bank of England itself will accept withdrawn notes - along with some Post Offices in the UK.

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