Check your £20 notes before they're taken out of circulation

Virgin Radio

22 Mar 2022, 17:02

Got any paper £20 notes left?

You're being urged to spend or swap them before they're taken out of circulation later this year.

The original paper £20 and £50 notes can no longer be spent after 30th September 2022.

The decision to take them out of circulation is a decision by the Bank Of England to try to tackle the problem of counterfeit money.

The Bank is advising customers to double-check that they don't have any paper notes left in purses or bags.

If you are unable to spend them, the bank has said it will swap the notes for their face value.

A recent investigation by BBC Wales found some 360 million paper versions of the £20 notes still in circulation.

As well as the £20 notes, there are still 209 million paper £50 notes.

Some £19 billion in old banknotes are being spent.

The decision to remove £50 and £20 notes from circulation comes after the paper £5 and £10 notes were taken out of circulation in 2017 and 2018.

It's not just notes, either. Apparently, 105 million of the old, round-edged £1 coins have not been returned.

The new £1 coin was introduced in October 2017.

In an attempt to combat counterfeited coins, the new design had 12 sides.

The Royal Mint reported that of 1.6 billion returned coins, some 1.45 million were counterfeits.

An old £1 can be changed at the post office or bank.

The plastic notes last twice as long as the paper versions, and are more difficult to counterfeit.

They are also designed so that blind and partially-sighted people can identify them.