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New £10 note enhanced for low vision

Charity
Shopping tasks for those living with sight loss will be easier with new £10 note

Day to day shopping tasks for those living with sight loss will be easier with the Bank of England’s new £10 note, thanks to features developed in conjunction with the RNIB.

The new polymer notes, due to be launched in September, will feature tiered sizing, raised prints, bold numerals and new colour palettes for enhanced textural contrast. In addition, the £10 and forthcoming £20 notes will each include a tactile feature created by a series of raised dots. The £5 note will be distinguishable by the absence of the feature.

‘Here at RNIB we’re delighted to have worked closely with the Bank of England on this project, to offer guidance on what the new bank notes should look and feel like, said the organisation.

‘Handling cash can often be a challenge if you're blind or partially sighted, because it can be difficult to tell the difference between the different notes and coins. Through focus group testing with a number of blind and partially sighted people, we were able to gather a large amount of user feedback which enabled us to advise the Bank of England on the size of the notes, what they should feel like, and how they would work best for people with sight loss.’