The Bank of England will be withdrawing the legal tender status of old paper £20 and £50 notes after September 30.
Before this date, people can still spend their old paper £20 or £50 bank notes in stores. You can also deposit them into your bank account, either at your local bank branch or Post Office, or swap them for polymer notes.
However, if you miss the September 30 deadline, you can still swap your old bank notes for new polymer versions at the Bank of England. You can do this either in person or by post.
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If you're posting them, it is best to send your bank notes by recorded delivery in case they get lost, reports The Mirror. The address is: Dept Nex, Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8AH.
If you’re visiting the Bank of England in person, you may be asked to complete a form and you will need to provide two forms of identification. In return you'll get the same value back in the new polymer notes.
The Bank of England said most banks should still allow customers to exchange old bank notes after they’re no longer legal tender. The Post Office may also still accept withdrawn notes as a deposit into any bank account you can access with them.
A message on the Bank of England website reads: "30 September 2022 will be the last day you can use Bank of England paper £20 and £50 notes. After 30 September 2022, these paper notes will no longer be legal tender, so we encourage people to spend them or deposit them at their bank ahead of this date."
Old paper £20 and £50 bank notes have been replaced by longer lasting polymer versions. The new £20 note was released into circulation on February 20, 2020, and features the artist JMW Turner.
The image of Turner, chosen in 2016, is on display at the Tate Britain and the banknote also features his signature from his will. Meanwhile, the new £50 was dedicated to World War Two codebreaker Alan Turing and was released on June 23, 2021.
Turing is best known for breaking the German Enigma code, leading to victory over Nazi Germany. Historians believe Turing may have shortened the war by four years - saving tens of thousands of lives.
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