The Bank of England (BoE) announced that its new polymer £20 note featuring artist, JMW Turner, has entered circulation for the first time.

The new note will begin appearing in ATMs and tills across the UK, and the BoE said it expected half of all ATMs throughout the country to be dispensing polymer £20s two weeks after issue.

The BoE also indicated the polymer £20 is its most secure banknote yet – with it including two see-through windows and a two-colour foil making it difficult to counterfeit.

The note will join the Churchill £5 and the Austen £10 in the first series of polymer notes, and a new polymer £50 featuring Alan Turing will be issued next year.

Speaking at Tate Britain, which houses the Turner Bequest, Governor Mark Carney commented: “Our banknotes celebrate the UK’s extraordinarily rich and diverse heritage and highlight the contributions of its greatest citizens.

“Turner’s art was transformative. I am delighted that the work of arguably the single most influential British artist of all time will now appear on another 2 billion works of art – the new £20 notes that people can start using today.”

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