BoE to put barn owls, bees on future notes

London: Barn owls, bumblebees, puffins and hedgehogs will feature on new Bank of England (BoE) banknotes over the coming years, replacing World War Two leader Winston Churchill and other historic figures, the Bank of England said on Thursday.

The BoE's March decision in March to no longer feature famous Britons on future banknotes, in favour of native wildlife, dismayed politicians across the political spectrum and prompted speculation that the central bank wanted to avoid controversies surrounding historic figures.

The BoE said the change would make its banknotes more distinctive and harder to counterfeit, and that it followed a public consultation where people had been invited to choose among different categories of images.

Almost 500,000 people voted on a selection of 18 animals released by the central bank in June.

The buff-tailed bumblebee was the most popular creature on the shortlist, followed by the barn owl and the European hedgehog. Red foxes and common kingfishers received more votes than the Atlantic puffin, which the BoE selected to ensure a marine animal was included on the list.

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"I am delighted that nearly half a million people responded to our wildlife imagery consultation, showing that cash still matters," said BoE chief cashier Victoria Cleland.

Cash usage has fallen steeply in Britain in recent years, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to almost all retailers accepting contactless card and smartphone payments.

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Under 10% of payments were made in cash in 2024, but trade body UK Finance said it expected the decline to level off, as a small percentage of Britons strongly preferred to use cash.
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