There are still £9billion worth of old bank notes which have not yet been cashed in - but it isn't too late to swap your cash for new notes.
Old £20 and £50 paper notes stopped being legal tender in the UK on 30 September 2022.
This means you can’t use them in shops or as payment any more.
These old paper notes were replaced with polymer plastic notes which were stronger and harder to counterfeit.
However, according to a data revealed through a Freedom of Information request by the BBC to the Bank of England - around 455million paper notes remained in circulation.
There are also £87million worth of old £1 coins that have not been returned, according to the Royal Mint.
Of the 455million paper banknotes still in circulation there are around:
- 111million £5 notes
- 65million £10 notes
- 198million £20 notes
- 70million £50 notes
How do you swap your old banknotes and coins?
If you find some old paper bank notes or old coins in an old bag or wallet then you should not just throw them out.
The Bank of England says that all "genuine" banknotes that have been withdrawn from circulation still retain their face value and you can simply exchange them for the newer equivalent.
You are able to exchange your notes at your bank, some post offices and at the central bank itself.
Banks no longer have to legally accept old paper notes and coins once they have been withdrawn from circulation, the banks that do still offer the service will usually have their own rules in place on how they do it.
Banks that allow you to exchange paper notes will generally allow you to deposit the money into the account that you hold with them.
Banks and building societies happy to exchange the old notes include Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest and Santander.
Before you head down you should check whether your bank is offering this service first.
At the post office, you can exchange paper banknotes at no cost in its participating sites - up to a maximum of £300 in any two-year period.
You must bring photo ID with you in order to swap your notes - this is because the Post Office needs to keep track of how much you convert.
You can swap old £5 notes up to £50 notes are the post office.
To find a participating branch, visit the store locator on the Post Office website here.
You can also swap your old banknotes at the Bank of England counter at Threadneedle Street in London.
This counter is usually open from 9:30am until 3pm Monday to Friday - however, you should be aware that the central bank may have very long queues.
You can also post your old notes to the bank - but this is done at your own risk and the bank advises you to put measures in place to reduce the chance of loss or theft.
In order to swap notes by post, you need to fill out a form and send it with your notes, a photocopy of your ID and proof of address.
There is currently no time limit when it comes to exchanging your old banknotes at the Bank of England.
