The Pound might not be worth as much at present due to the currency crash, especially if you're going abroad or buying from abroad; however, even worse is that any old banknotes you've got stashed under the mattress or down the bank of the sofa, are about to be worth nothing unless you act quickly! The Bank of England will withdraw the legal tender status of paper £20 and £50 banknotes after the 30th of September 2022, so you have only a few days left to exchange your old notes for the newer versions.
After this date, paper £20 and £50 banknotes will no longer be legal tender. So the Bank of England is encouraging anyone who still has these to use them or deposit them at their bank or a Post Office during these next few weeks!
While the majority of paper £20 and £50 banknotes in circulation have been replaced with new polymer versions, there are still over £6 billion worth of paper £20 featuring the economist Adam Smith, and over £8 billion worth of paper £50 banknotes featuring the engineers Boulton and Watt, in circulation. That’s more than 300 million individual £20 banknotes and 160 million paper £50 banknotes.
Where Can You Exchange Your Notes?
1. The Post Office may be able to accept withdrawn notes as a deposit into any bank account you can access with them.
You can exchange certain banknotes at some Post Office branches, even after 30 September when the paper £20 and £50 cease to be legal tender. The Post Office website has more information. The maximum value you can exchange is £300 You can exchange the following:
Elizabeth Fry paper £5 note
Charles Darwin paper £10 note
Adam Smith paper £20 note
Boulton and Watt paper £50 note
2. If you have a UK bank account, the simplest and quickest way to exchange your notes is to deposit them with your bank. 3. Old series Bank of England notes can be presented for exchange either in person at the Bank’s premises in London or sent by post (at the sender’s risk) to Dept NEX, Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8AH. You need to include photocopies of ID (one photo ID and one proof of address) for any exchange (mandatory for any exchange of £700 or more) The Bank of England will pay your money into a bank account (generally within ten working days) by cheque or, if you live in the UK and your exchange is worth up to £300, in new banknotes.
The Bank of England Counter at Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8AH, is open from 9.30 am to 3 pm Monday to Friday. It is closed at the weekend and on bank holidays, allowing you to receive an immediate exchange, however, it's a very busy place, and you can expect to wait several hours. The Bank of England suggests sending your banknotes via the post if you aren't in a massive rush for your exchanged currency.
You will need to take your ID with you, which is mandatory on any exchange over £700.
Identification and proof of address
The Bank of England accept the following identity documents and reserve the right to request identification and proof of address for an exchange of any value:
valid passport
valid photo card driving licence (full or provisional)
national identity card (if you are a non-UK national)
firearm or shotgun certificate.
We accept the following as proof of address:
valid photocard driving licence (full or provisional) – if you haven’t used this as proof of ID
electoral register entry
utility bill or certificate from utility supplier (dated within the past six months)
Council Tax bill (dated within the past six months)
bank, building society or credit union statement or passbook (dated within the past six months)
most recent mortgage statement
local council rent card or tenancy agreement
benefits book or letter from the benefits agency (dated within the past six months)
telephone bill (excluding mobile phones, dated within the past six months)
credit card bill (dated within the past six months)
HM Revenue and Customs tax notification (dated within the past six months)
Jobcentre Plus letter confirming your National Insurance number
You must declare cash of £10,000 or more to UK customs if you’re carrying it between Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and a country outside the UK. This includes if you are travelling as part of a group or family.
As a reminder, the images below are the notes you need to get rid of pronto!
314 million paper £20 banknotes with a value of £6.3 billion (as of 27/05/2022), and 163 million paper £50 with a value of £8.2 billion (as of 10/06/2022) remain in circulation
Information correct as of 25th September 2022