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Exchanging the old currency is easy

Posted by (Mid-Atlantic area) on

Just returned from London where I exchanged old currency for the new notes. When entering the Bank of England (Bank tube stop) the guard will ask the purpose of the visit, will ask to see the currency, and check any purse or backpack for explosives by placing it in a machine. You then enter the bank, go up to a teller, and fill out a paper. The entire process took about 10 minutes. The Bank of England does NOT exchange the old £1 coins. I was able to exchange the 5-£1 coins I had at a bank although not all banks will. I went to a couple different ones until I found one that would exchange them. The old £10 notes can still be used until sometime in the spring, but I exchanged all of mine. The £20s won’t change until 2020.

Open 9-4 Monday through Friday, closed on bank holidays. One can exchange up to £999 without identification, but you may want to have ID with you just in case.

Posted by
28247 posts

Thanks for providing those details. I'm sure many people will need them.

Posted by
5466 posts

The withdrawal date for the old £10 note (Darwin) is 1 March 2018. They seem to be disappearing quickly from circulation.

If going to the Bank of England don't miss out the free museum.

Posted by
6552 posts

I guess we should ask around our town to see if anyone is going to England anytime soon - we can get them to swap out some pound coins. And I suspect we have £10 notes too, and maybe some £20s.

Posted by
7206 posts

Jane, with the £1 coins, in addition to some banks, some posts offices will still take them if you purchase something, but it won’t be long until nobody accepts them. Any of the old paper £5 notes must be exchanged at the Bank of England. If you only have a couple, some banks may still exchange them, but no store will accept them. In my case, I had a bunch of the £5, £10, and even a few old £50. I had to go to the Bank of England. You don’t need to exchange the £20 until 2020.

Posted by
4071 posts

We're thinking of traveling to London at the end of March when the £10 notes will no longer be valid. Could we go to any bank like Barclay's to exchange the former £10 notes for current ones?

Posted by
5466 posts

Hard to say - some banks quite soon after the withdrawal date might exchange for non customers, but equally well might only accept them as deposits into accounts, or not at all. The Post Office is another potential place to try.

Don't completely discount the experience of visiting the Bank though and speaking to one of the door keepers in traditional salmon tailcoat, red waistcoat and top hat.

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