Context
The Bank of England has published a reminder that it will be withdrawing legal tender status of paper £20 and £50 banknotes after 30th September 2022. This means that there are 100 days left to use paper £20 and £50 banknotes. 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 last 100 days.
Key points to note
- It is one year since the polymer £50 banknote featuring the scientist Alan Turing were issued, on what would have been his 109th birthday. The Turing £50 completed the family of polymer notes, with all denominations (£5, £10, £20 and £50) now printed on polymer.
- 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.
- The Bank of England has said that changing the banknotes from paper to polymer over recent years makes them more difficult to counterfeit, and means they are more durable. Most paper banknotes have now been taken out of circulation, but a significant number remain in the economy.
Next actions
None – for information and awareness