Yes, there is a humorous side to polymer money! It seems that every country that has decided to add polymer denominations or switch their entire note catalogue to polymer has faced initial scepticism from the public. Canada is certainly no exception! Now that the $20 polymer note has gone into circulation I hear many of my friends and associates complaining about it. Although I personally like the new notes, I also applaud the freedom to criticize it. Rick Mercer is a well known and popular comedian here, who has his own weekly show called The Mercer Report (on CBC Television). Mr. Mercer recently aired a rant on polymer money that I couldn’t resist sharing with you.

While Mr. Mercer makes some good points about the perceived drawbacks of polymer, he minimizes the fact that it has many social benefits. It lates longer than traditional paper notes (up to two and a half times longer). He also minimizes the fact that Canada had one of the highest incidents of counterfeit in the western world and the introduction of polymer together with some very high technology security features makes it virtually impossible to duplicate. A further benefit to the new money is the art. Polymer allows for some striking design work – in my humble opinion the new Canadian polymer notes look great and the combination of ink, foil and holograms raise the art of money from drab to eye catching – to those who appreciate money as an art form.

Enough said on the benefits of polymer. I will let Mr. Mercer entertain you with his rant on its shortcomings…