People who pay for shopping with cash are being warned to check their wallets to make sure they use up their old bank notes before they stop being legal tender. Both £20 notes and £50 notes are being phased out and replaced with new, more secure versions that are harder to copy.
From September the older paper notes will no longer be accepted at shops including Asda, Tesco, Aldi, M&S and Morrisons. That is despite the notes still having value - you can still cash them in at a bank after the September deadline, Birmingham Live reports.
Bank of England chief cashier Sarah John said : “We want to remind the public that from today they only have six months left to spend or deposit their paper £20 and £50 notes. Over the past few years we have been changing our banknotes from paper to polymer, because these designs are more difficult to counterfeit, whilst also being more durable.
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"A large number of these paper notes have now been returned to us and replaced with the polymer £20 featuring the artist J.M.W. Turner, and the polymer £50 featuring the scientist Alan Turing. However if members of the public still have any of these paper notes in their possession, they should deposit or spend them whilst they can”.
It comes following similar polymer banknotes replaced the old paper £5 and £10 some years ago. The old paper £5 note - which was replaced by a new polymer version on September 13, 2016 - stopped being legal tender on May 5, 2017. As for the old £10 note - of which a new polymer version came out on September 14, 2017 - the cut-off date for using this was March 1, 2018.
How to exchange old bank notes
On the Bank of England (BoE) website, there are instructions for those who may still be clinging on to old paper banknotes. You can look to exchange them at the following places:
- At your bank : The BoE says the easiest way to exchange notes is to deposit them with your bank. You'll need to visit your nearest bank branch in person to do this.
- At the Post Office : The Post Office may also accept withdrawn notes as payment for goods and services, or as a deposit into any bank account you can access with them.
- At the Bank of England : You can post old banknotes to the BoE and they'll then send you a cheque for the amount, or the equivalent in new polymer notes.
Send your banknote(s) and photocopies of ID to Department NEX, Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8AH. You can also visit the BoE in person to exchange old notes.
You may be asked to complete a form and need to provide two original identity documents. The BoE may also exchange accidentally torn, damaged or mutilated notes - as long as they are genuine.
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