The Bank of England (BoE) has warned that certain £20 and £50 notes will soon become redundant. In its latest update, the institution says that Brits should remain patient when cashing in the recalled notes as: "There will be long queues and you may encounter waiting times in excess of an hour."
The change, which has a deadline that is just days away, isn't anything to do with the passing of the Queen but an ongoing update to tackle counterfeit money. While the change has been on the cards for months, the deadline for spending notes is fast approaching.
From September 30, paper £20 and £50 notes won't be usable on the high street so they need to be swapped for new polymer ones if you wish to be able to spend them in shops. You can currently exchange the notes at the Bank of England, as well as high street banks and some Post Offices.
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If you miss the deadline to spend the paper notes in stores, the BoE says don't worry "withdrawn notes can always be exchanged after this date" by depositing them at your bank, some Post Office branches or the Bank of England. However, it would seem that consumers are still rushing to swap them and a notice has been issued. It says: "The Bank of England Counter is currently open from 9.30am to 3pm Monday to Friday and is experiencing extremely high demand.
"There will be long queues and you may encounter waiting times in excess of two hours. We would ask that you kindly consider the long wait times when travelling to the Bank to undertake an in person exchange - if you arrive after 1pm it is possible you may not get served before we close. Unless you require your banknotes immediately, we would suggest sending your banknotes via the post."
It isn't necessary to deposit your notes with the Bank of England so to avoid the queues either spend the notes prior to the end of September or deposit or exchange them at your local bank.
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