The Bank of England will soon make some £20 and £50 notes void.
After September 30 2022, the legal tender status of the paper £20 and £50 notes will be removed. Anyone who has these notes at home is being encouraged to spend or deposit them at their bank or Post Office.
In March, it was believed there are approximately £7 billion worth of paper £20 and £10.5 billion worth of paper £50 notes still in circulation. But after September 30 2022, the new polymer notes will be the only ones with legal tender status.
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Once this deadline has passed, people will no longer be able to spend Bank of England paper notes in shops, or use them to pay businesses. People with a UK bank account will still be able to deposit withdrawn notes into their account.
Some Post Offices may also accept withdrawn notes as payment for goods and services or as a deposit to an account accessed via them. The new polymer £20 was first issued on February 20 2020, and the polymer £50 note was first issued on June 23 2021. These notes complete the Bank of England’s first polymer series.
The introduction of polymer banknotes allows for a new generation of security features which make them even harder to counterfeit. The notes are resistant to dirt and moisture and so remain in better condition for longer. These notes also have tactile features that allow the blind and partially sighted to use them.
Speaking in March, the Bank of England’s 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.
"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”.
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