DEADLINE FOR PAPER £20 AND £50 PAPER NOTES HITS THE SIX MONTH MARK

Time is quickly running out for those who still have paper £20 notes as the public is warned they will soon not be able to purchase goods with their money.

Just six months from now, the legal tender status will be withdrawn from the old paper £20 and £50 notes.

The new polymer £20 featuring JMW Turner and the £50 featuring Alan Turing will be the only form accepted by retailers.

Despite the newer polymer notes being released some time ago approximately £9 billion worth of the old £20 notes remain in circulation.

Meanwhile the old paper £50 still make up £15 billion of notes in circulation.

The Bank of England has set a deadline for September 30 2022 for when the old paper notes will withdraw from legal tender.

After the deadline, people with a UK bank account will still be able to deposit the paper notes into their account while the Bank of England will still exchange all paper notes.

The Bank of England’s chief cashier, Sarah John, said:

Quote

 

“In recent years we have been changing our banknotes from paper to polymer because this makes them more difficult to counterfeit, and means they are more durable.

“The polymer £20 featuring the artist JMW Turner, and the polymer £50 featuring the scientist Alan Turing are now in wide circulation, and we are in the process of withdrawing their paper equivalents.”