Banknote warning as millions of £20 and £50 notes are to become void | Personal Finance | Finance
Certain paper £20 and £50 notes are being phased out as the new polymer notes have been rolled out. The Bank of England first issued the new polymer £20 in February 2020 while the new £50 was released in June 2021.
People have just 85 days to use the old notes before they can no longer be used to pay for items.
Bank bosses estimate that there are more than £6billion worth of paper £20 notes still in circulation.
A further £8 billion of old £50 notes are also believed to still be in use.
People can swap the notes at a bank, and the Bank of England will exchange old banknotes after the end of September.
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Sarah John, chief cashier at the Bank of England, said: “Changing our banknotes from paper to polymer over recent years has been an important development, because it makes them more difficult to counterfeit, and means they are more durable.
“The majority of paper banknotes have now been taken out of circulation, but a significant number remain in the economy, so we’re asking you to check if you have any at home.
“For the next 100 days, these can still be used or deposited at your bank in the normal way.”
The new £20 note features painter JMW Turner while the £50 note displays mathematician Alan Turing.
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Bank of England bosses recently increased the base interest rate again, from one percent to 1.25 percent, in efforts to tackle inflation.
Inflation rates have reached a 40 year high of nine percent, with warnings from the central bank that this could reach 11 percent by the end of the year.
Fuel costs are currently the biggest contributor to inflation rates, as prices hit record highs in February.
The Bank of England said: “We will take the actions necessary to bring inflation down to two percent. This is the target the Government has set us.
“Precisely where interest rates will go depends on what happens in the economy and what we think will happen to the rate of inflation over the next few years.
“So we can’t say now exactly how high they will go. But they are not likely to reach the very high levels that some people experienced in the past.”
Savers will enjoy a slight increase on the interest on their savings as a result, with many banks and building societies upping their rates since the announcement.
