The move, revealed in the federal budget by finance minister Jim Flaherty last week, will see the Bank of Canada begin issuing a series of bank notes printed on a polymer material in late 2011.

The bank says the new material will last longer than the cotton paper currently in use, cutting overall production costs and reducing environmental impact. It also claims unspecified "innovative security features" will protect against counterfeiting.

A supplier has yet to be formally named, although speculation in Canada suggests the contract could be awarded to Australia's Securency International, which is half-owned by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Securency's plastic money has been in circulation in Australia since the 1980s but the firm is currently in the midst of a probe relating to the payment of kickbacks to obtain contracts.