An urgent warning has been sent out to customers using cash to pay for their shopping.
They have been given a six-month warning ahead of the deadline for using certain paper notes in stores. The Bank of England has given a September 30 deadline, whereby paper £20 and £50 notes will no longer be accepted.
Anyone using paper notes to pay for items in all retailers, including Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, M&S and Morrisons will have their transaction rejected, according to the Daily Star. The paper notes in current circulation were first issued in 2007, and features the economist Adam Smith.
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Polymer £20 notes were introduced in February 2020, with polymer £50's being issued in June 2021, and paper notes have slowly been phased out in exchange for the polymer notes which are more durable. The new polymer notes also have greater number of security features and are harder to counterfeit.
People are able to exchange their paper notes at banks and Post Office branches across the country. The Bank of England will also always exchange old notes for new - even after the September 30 deadline.
Chief Cashier Sarah John said: “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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