The Bank of England has said a select band of post offices will be allowing people to exchange old paper £20 and £50 notes. From today officials have said people can go into some branches to do the exchange.
However, there is a cap on how much money people can exchange at any one time. Paper £20 and £50 notes will no longer be legal tender from September 30, after they were replaced with new polymer versions.
The Bank shared it had been hit by huge queues this week as people tried to hand in their paper notes, which they will not be able to spend after the end of the month reports MyLondon. The Bank said: “The Bank of England Counter is currently open from 9.30am to 3pm Monday to Friday and is experiencing very high demand.
"There will be long queues and you may encounter waiting times in excess of an hour. 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 2pm it is possible you may not get served before we close."
It added: “Unless you require your banknotes immediately, we would suggest sending your banknotes via the post.”
The Bank of England has said a further announcement regarding existing Bank of England banknotes which bear the face of the Queen will be made once the period of mourning has been observed. Only some Post Office branches will accept the old withdrawn notes as a deposit into any bank account you can access with them.
From today (September 15), people may exchange certain withdrawn notes at some Post Office branches. These notes and branches are listed below. The Bank of England has said the maximum value which can be exchanged is £300.
The notes which can be exchanged are:
- Elizabeth Fry paper £5 note
- Charles Darwin paper £10 note
- Adam Smith paper £20 note
- Boulton and Watt paper £50 note
Post Office branches that will exchange withdrawn notes:
London
- Golders Green Post Office | Greater London | NW11 8RT
- High Holborn Post Office | Greater London | WC1V 7RL
- Moorgate Post Office | Greater London | EC2M 5TE
- The City of London Post Office | Greater London | EC3M 1AJ
- Regent Street St. James’s Post Office | Greater London | SW1Y 4LR
Northern Ireland
- Belfast City Post Office | County Antrim | BT1 1LT
- Londonderry Post Office | County Londonderry | BT48 6AA
Scotland
- Edinburgh City Post Office | Midlothian | EH1 1BQ
- Glasgow Post Office | Strathclyde | G1 2RD
- Inverness Post Office | Inverness-shire | IV1 1AX
North East
- Middlesbrough Post Office | North Yorkshire | TS1 2NR
- Newcastle Upon Tyne Post Office | Tyne and Wear | NE1 7DE
North West
- Carlisle Post Office | Cumbria | CA3 8JY
- Manchester Post Office | Greater Manchester | M2 1BB
- Breck Road Post Office | Merseyside | L5 6SW
Yorkshire and Humber
- Sheffield City Post Office | South Yorkshire | S1 2AX
- York Post Office | North Yorkshire | YO1 9QL
- The Markets Post Office | West Yorkshire | LS2 7DZ
Midlands
- Birmingham Post Office | West Midlands | B2 4AA
- Nottingham Post Office | Nottinghamshire | NG1 3QD
East of England
- Cambridge City Post Office | Cambridgeshire | CB2 3BZ
- Norwich Post Office | Norfolk | NR1 3QP
Wales
- Wrexham Post Office | Clwyd | LL11 1BE
- Cardiff Post Office | South Glamorgan | CF10 2NX
South West
- Bournemouth Post Office | Dorset | BH1 1DY
- Bristol Post Office | City Of Bristol | BS1 3XB
- Mutley Post Office | Devon | PL4 6LL
South East
- Oxford Post Office | Oxfordshire | OX1 1ZZ
- Melville Road Post Office | East Sussex | BN3 1UB
- Portsmouth Post Office | Hampshire | PO1 1AB
For more information please visit Bank of England website here.
