After that date, the £20 paper ceased to be legal tender. You can also exchange some withdrawn paper notes for polymer notes at a limited number of post offices, or you can exchange withdrawn notes with the Bank of England, including by post. When the paper notes were returned to the Bank of England, they were replaced by the new 20-pound polymer notes with JMW Turner and the 50-pound polymer notes with Alan Turing. 257 million £5.1 billion banknotes (as of 9 September 2022) and 118 million £50 billion notes (as of 9 September 2022) are still in circulation. ANYONE with £20 paper notes has only a few days left to spend them. The move comes after the bank introduced new £20 polymer plastic banknotes in February 2020 and £50 polymer banknotes in June 2021. The £20 and £50 paper notes will be phased out after the introduction of plastic banknotes. After the deadline of 30 September 2022, you will no longer be able to use Bank of England paper notes in shops or use them to pay businesses. If you have an old legal tender, such as £5 or £10 notes, you can exchange or deposit them using this method. After this date, only polymer tickets will be accepted in shops or paid shops. After this date, many UK banks will accept withdrawn notes as customer deposits.

Some post offices may also accept withdrawn banknotes as a deposit into a bank account that you can access with them. The new £20 note is slightly smaller than the paper edition and depicts the British painter JMW Turner. Although the majority of the £20 and £50 paper banknotes in circulation have been replaced by new polymer versions, there are still more than £5 billion of £20 worth of paper notes in circulation with economist Adam Smith and nearly £6 billion of £50 notes with engineers Boulton and Watt. That`s more than 250 million individual £20 banknotes and over 110 million £50 notes. Footnote [1] Flip the note from page to page and see if the images change between a «£» symbol and the number «20». The post office can also accept old paper bills as a deposit into any bank account that you can access at the post office. The Bank of England can deposit the money into a bank account, by cheque or (if you live in the UK and the amount is less than £50) into new banknotes. Paper tickets are currently still valid and can therefore be issued in shops or other places to accept cash. If you have paper notes of 20 or 50 pounds, we recommend that you send them before the 30th century. September 2022 or deposited with your bank or post office. However, you can exchange your old notes for new notes at any time before or after 30 September at the Bank of England. You can still receive paper notes from companies or others until September 30, 2022.

Here`s how to check if your new £50 note is a «rare» note worth hundreds of pounds. All polymer banknotes bearing a portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II are legal tender and may continue to be used by the public as usual. A further announcement regarding the Bank of England`s existing banknotes will be made once the time of royal mourning has been observed. 20-pound notes made of waste paper expire on September 30, 2022. After this date, cafes, bars, shops and restaurants will no longer accept the £20 paper ticket. In particular, it is the same day as the expiry date of the old £50 note. The new 20-pound plastic and polymer banknotes feature a new iconic image, as well as enhanced security features to prevent fraudulent activity. It has already been described as «the safest banknote yet» because the new security features include a hologram and a transparent window – two features that are difficult to copy exactly.

UK post offices expect an influx of «last-minute» customers who deposit £20 and £50 worth of paper notes this week before they can no longer be used in shops. That`s over 250 million individual £20 notes and over 110 million £50 notes. After September 30, only our polymer banknotes will be legal tender. This is the last week that our paper banknotes can still be used. The Bank of England`s deadline for legal tender status of the £20 and £50 notes is 30 September. «Postmasters and their staff are on hand to provide human assurance that your old notes have been deposited into your bank account and will also issue a receipt. Most post offices are open late, even on Fridays. The new £20 note features artist JMW Turner, while the new £50 note features Bletchley Park codebreaker Alan Turing. These new security features have been added to make it more difficult to copy the note and forge it. After September 30, only our polymer bonds will be legal tender. The £20 and £50 notes will be phased out after the introduction of plastic banknotes.

The grades of polymers have different safety characteristics. Find out how to check all our tickets The last day to issue 20 and 50 pound paper tickets is today, September 30, 2022.