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No, it's not funny money.  That plastic $100 bill the bank handed you is actual currency.

The Bank of Canada has just released the new bills as part of a phasing out of paper money.  The bill is made of a polymer material and should be very hard, if not impossible to counterfeit thanks to a see through window that has been built in and several other anti counterfeiting features.

But there's another reason according to Senior Analyst Michelle Witkowski. Durability.

"We noticed that with the polymer, we anticipate they should last much longer in circulation. About two and a half times longer versus the paper. It should last much longer which means we'll be printing less of them, they'll stay in circulation much longer and be in better shape at the end of the day."

The $50 bill is next to be replaced and that should happen in the spring.  By 2013, all bills will be switched over to the new polymer.

Click here to see a video produced by the Bank of Canada, introducing the new bills.