The Bank of England will be withdrawing legal tender status of £20 and £50 paper bank notes after 30th September 2022. After this date, £20 and £50 paper bank notes will no longer be legal tender.
We would like to take this opportunity to encourage anyone or any business who still have these to use them or deposit them at their bank or a Post Office during the next 45 days.
The majority of paper £20 and £50 bank notes in circulation have now been replaced with the new polymer versions. However, there are still over £6 billion worth of paper £20 notes and over £8 billion worth of paper £50 bank notes in circulation. That is more than 300 million individual £20 bank notes and 160 million paper £50 bank notes.*
The main reason that bank notes were changed from paper to polymer over the years is because it makes them more difficult to counterfeit and also means they are more durable.
The majority of paper bank notes have now been taken out of circulation but a significant amount remain in the economy. This is our reminder to you to check if you have any at home or in your business and either use them or deposit at your bank in the normal way.
If you have any additional questions about this subject then please get in touch.
- 314 million paper £20 banknotes with a value of £6.3 billion (as of 27/05/2022), and 163 million paper £50 with a value of £8.2 billion (as of 10/06/2022) remain in circulation – Source: Bank of England.