The new £20 note featuring British artist J.M.W Turner is due to enter circulation in 2020. The Bank of England has today confirmed that it has entered into a contract to supply the polymer notes which contain a trace of tallow – a substance made from animal fat.

Following the introduction of the new £5 polymer note last year, a petition was launched to remove traces of tallow from the notes as it was unacceptable to millions of vegans, Hindus, Sikhs and Jains in the UK.

The Bank said it would cost £46m to reprint the £5 notes, plus £50,000 to securely destroy them. It had already printed 275 million new £10 notes which entered circulation last month. Also, estimates suggested it would take less than one cow to produce all the notes in circulation.

It did however delay signing relevant contracts for the supply of materials for the £20 polymer. However, today, it confirmed it had entered 10-year contracts with CCL Secure Limited and De La Rue to supply the polymer substrate for the £20 banknote.