Last day to spend paper bank notes - what to do with old £20 and £50 after today
manchestereveningnews.co.ukToday is the last day you can spend the Bank of England's old paper £20 and £50 notes before they stop being legal tender. The notes are being replaced with new polymer versions that are more durable than the papers notes and will feature different historical figures.
Paper £5 and £10 notes were replaced in the same way in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The Post Office said this week it was preparing for a “last moment” rush in customers depositing paper £20 and £50 banknotes in its branches.
As of June 2022, an estimated 163 million £50 notes and some 314 million £20 notes are still in people's purses and wallets. READ MORE: Greater Manchester braces for Hurricane Ian fallout as heavy rain set to hit The paper £20 banknotes featuring economist Adam Smith and the £50 notes featuring entrepreneur Matthew Boulton and engineer James Watt have gradually been replaced with either polymer £20 notes featuring artist JMW Turner, or polymer £50 notes featuring Bletchley Park codebreaker Alan Turing.
After today, you won't be able to spend paper notes in shops or to pay businesses, but you will still be able to deposit paper notes at their Post Office and many UK banks will also accept withdrawn notes as deposits from customers.
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk