Canadian cash to do away with paper

"Paper or plastic?" That question isn't asked frequently at grocery stores anymore, but it may be poised for a comeback – at Canadian banks.

The Bank of Canada will start issuing high-tech currency made of polymers instead of the traditional cotton paper and featuring transparent windows (one shaped like a maple leaf) to frustrate counterfeiters.

Security and verification features include raised ink in the numerals and the featured portrait, color-shifting images embedded in the large window, and a number hidden in the maple-leaf window.

New Canadian cash