Has the Bank of England gone over budget on a website for the new £5 note?
The Bank of England is a digitally savvy outfit these days.
In honour of all the new banknotes being printed this year, the British central bank has decided to create a website devoted to the new five pound note, www.thenewfiver.co.uk.
The microsite, expected to launch fully in June, will provide helpful information on the new fiver and the use of polymer in the BoE's banknotes. For now, though, the domain name simply redirects to the Bank's own website.
The new fiver will enter circulation in September. The new £10 note featuring Jane Austen will enter circulation in 2017 and the new £20 featuring JMW Turner will be out by 2020. Will they be getting their own websites? Watch this space, a spokesperson tells us: "Our plans for these notes will be announced closer to the time."
So, how much does a website about a £5 note that is quite literally called "the new fiver", cost? A cursory glance at an online website valuation tool suggests that the domain name has an estimated worth of $8.95 (£6.15)
Clearly, this is not going to be your bog-standard microsite. A spokesperson told The Capitalist that the Bank went all out and spent £23 on the domain name.
Talk about a false economy.