Old Banknotes-Update

The B of I notes, unless they are very old, may still be in circulation- https://www.bankofirelanduk.com/about/bank-notes/old-notes/

Northern Ireland notes can only normally be exchanged in Northern Ireland.

The Clydesdale bank notes similarly can only be exchanged at that bank.
This page about their notes also has contact details for enquiries about old notes- https://www.scotbanks.org.uk/banknotes/clydesdale-bank.html

They have a number of branches in England, including London-
https://secure.cbonline.co.uk/personal/online-locator/

so hopefully you can arrange to exchange at a London branch

So do the Clydesdale Bank branches require one to have a deposit account with the bank, in order to exchange old notes for new ones? That was an issue we had last year with old Bank of England notes in London.

Thanks for the link. The Bank of Ireland note looks like it is still good! I could try a Clydesdale branch in London if I have time.

@ Cyn- It is quite easy to exchange old Bank of England notes if you go to the Main Bank of England Branch. No account is required.

That is what the website indicates, that they have to be deposited. And, strictly speaking, they are Scottish notes which an English branch, even of the same bank, does not have to accept.
But hopefully Carolnowretired can come to a practical arrangement with a London branch.
There was a branch here in Whitehaven, which has only very recently closed, or I could have popped in tomorrow to ask them. It's one of four banks to close in this small town since Covid.

The branches in England are by and large the old Virgin Money stores which would have predated the reverse takeover by Clydesdale. No harm in asking there but don't absolutely rely on it.

Old Scottish notes are generally exchangeable in Post Offices in Scotland. They must be exchangeable at the Head Office in Glasgow because of the promise to pay on the front if no other branches!

Please, I coming from Croatia and I need to exchange old British pounds into new. Does anyone know what documents I need to bring with me so I don't have any problem when I come to bank of England? Thanks

You need your passport or national identity card plus a proof of your permanent address (e.g. Bank statement, utility bill). You may not be asked for these if changing under £700 but these are mandatory above this figure.

The office is open from 9.30am to 3pm Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays. Be prepared to queue - they will close this after so many people have arrived, and this has been as early as 12 noon.

That's useful to see Carol now retired's definitive update on the process.

Has anyone tried mailing in their old notes? I've read that's an option. I'm not keen to send them from the states, but when I was in London in Sept. I went to the main Bank of England and a nice bank guard out front told me, as noted above, that they'd stopped taking the notes a few hours earlier, so I was too late.
I'll be back in May but like all us tourists, don't have a ton of time to spare... so wondered about mail-in option - like mailing them in once I'm in London - and also whether anyone knows of post office branches that also will exchange them? The guard mentioned there were a few in the city.
Thank in advance
R and R

The post offices in London that do note exchanges are:

Golders Green Post Office NW11 8RT
High Holborn Post Office WC1V 7RL
Moorgate Post Office EC2M 5TE
The City of London Post Office EC3M 1AJ
Regent Street St. James's Post Office SW1Y 4LR

They can only change the most recent withdrawn designs for each denomination, not earlier ones.

Thanks for post office info!

The secret is to get to the Bank of England early (I was there at 8:46). You will be out by 10:00 and most attractions don’t open until 10.

Carol, thanks for the update on the timing! My plan was 30-45 minutes ahead so I’ll go for the 45!

I didn't know this was a thing at all until I was at a London museum shop and wanted change for a penny-smooshing machine - I had a £10 and 2 £5 notes from my last trip in 2012 and honestly thought the cashier was making a joke at first, that the money wasnt legal tender because it had Elizabeth's face on it and not Charles's 😄

It's still bizarre to me that it's not legal tender, but oh well. I kept the £5 notes for a souvenir and planned to drop the £10 note in one of those bins at the airport where they collect your foreign currency but I didn't end up seeing one. Glad I only had a little bit. That was the only time I even needed cash on the whole time in London, too.

wasnt legal tender because it had Elizabeth's face on it and not Charles's

That is complete hogwash

There have, though, in the last few years, been replacement of paper notes with polymer ones, and the paper ones have ceased to be legal currency.

They can be taken to the Bank of England, Threadneedle Street in the City of London (nearest tube - Bank) for exchange at face value.

**wasnt legal tender because it had Elizabeth's face on it and not Charles's

That is complete hogwash

There have, though, in the last few years, been replacement of paper notes with polymer ones, and the paper ones have ceased to be legal currency.

They can be taken to the Bank of England, Threadneedle Street in the City of London (nearest tube - Bank) for exchange at face value**

Yes. I know. As I said, I thought the cashier was making a joke, because I did not know until that moment that there had been a replacement of paper notes with polymer currency.

I'm saying the point of the joke is rubbish.

King Charles isn't yet on the notes. They are still from before Queen Elizabeth's passing. Mostly. So reasonable to decline - unreasonable to say something ridiculous.

Also worth bearing in mind that even after the Charles III notes start to come out next year, the current Elizabeth II notes are not going to be withdrawn as they are considered to be the same "series". They will just become less common as they wear out.

they issue the notes

I guess I must suck at telling anecdotes, because the woman didn't say anything about Charles's face or not. All she said was it was no longer accepted. Yes, I know that money with someone else's face on it wouldn't make it not legal tender, but in the moment I literally thought she HAD to be making some sort of joke, because I've never had that happen before and as I said before I hadn't heard of the bank notes being replaced.

This is like a Lucy and Desi skit.

What was a really helpful post by carol now retired has suddenly become a music hall act!

I for one understood exactly what Kristi was saying- that it was her surprise, not some silly comment by a cashier.

Quite understandable surprise- why would she know we had moved from paper to polymer notes?

I have a whole drawer of withdrawn bank notes from around the world, as I always try to keep little starter packs of cash (coins especially) for any country I have been to.

These include a couple of countries I wasn't legally allowed to export currency from.

What I have lost over the years from currency being superseded probably evens out on what I have saved by not doing reverse currency conversions.

The Bank of England is responsible for regulating the notes issued by the Bank of England (English notes), the Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank (Scottish notes), the Bank of Ireland, Danske Bank and Ulster Bank (Northern Irish notes). Wales uses the English notes.

That's why they change them - it's ultimately their responsibility. All six of those banks can only issue notes equivalent to the assets they hold at the Bank of England.

And to the person asking, yes this is at the main Bank of England in Threadneedle Street.

Do note that the Bank of Ireland notes are for Northern Ireland only and are not the same as Republic of Ireland (currently using the Euro but used to use the Punt)

The deep dive on the background is the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954 .

This allows the Bank of England to call in banknotes at a minimum of one month's notice but requires it to operate during office hours a facility for bearers of notes to exchange them.

So, just to keep it complicated, last spring I tried to spend some old paper Bank of England notes in Northern Ireland. The restaurant guy said they couldn't accept paper money any more, but luckily there was a Post Office next door where I could exchange it for new polymer ones. I did that and paid for my lunch with nice polymer notes issued by the Bank of Ireland (with the Queen's picture on them). I still have a stash of these which I hope to use on my next UK trip, most likely to England and/or Scotland.

So will those Bank of Ireland notes be accepted as cash elsewhere in the UK? And, if not, will I have to go to London to exchange them? Or will acceptance be at the discretion of whoever I'm buying something from? Will a bank outside London exchange them?

I know it doesn't matter which monarch is on the note. But if I can't use these B of I notes without a big hassle, then, as Lucy would say, "Waaaaah!"

Acceptance of the Northern Irish money is at the discretion of the establishment you are in.

If you are in say Glasgow, which sees Northern Irish people over every day chances are high, but if you are in some little village then probably not.

I would go into the first high street bank you see, and get them changed into English notes. But not to worry about it, or go out of your way to make the exchange.

I'm sure someone will be along soon to say "you don't need cash, do everything by contactless payment" , but if you want to pay for things with cash for any reason that is your choice.
One thing you will notice is there are a rapidly diminishing number of high street banks, specifically because so many people are now doing on line banking and contactless payments.
Cause and effect.

Generally you will struggle to use any NI currency outside of NI - exceptions will be places like Stranraer or Argyll due to ferry links. Easiest way is to buy something cheap in a supermarket and use the self service option. You'll get your change in local notes or coins

over the years I have had people pay in Euro (company provided a formula), US Dollars (company provided a formula), Scottish notes (a line on the form to pay them in), but never in all my puff has anybody tried to pay in NI notes while I was working in England.

I just wanted to add my experience today. I got to Bank of England about 840. I was shown inside to the marble benches and was #3. The lady who was 4 and the one who was 1 both tried to exchange yesterday about 10:30 but said the line was so long they were told to leave.

Staff opened at about 9:15, 4 windows open and it literately took about 3 minutes to swap. No ID was needed although I had my passport with me. I suspect they assess customers and can tell the tourists right away.

Easy peasy if you get there early!

Security staff was so nice as well, reminding everyone to stash their money before they walked out the doors.

So, if I get money from an ATM machine at the airport when I arrive, will it give me the new notes?

Yes, you will get new notes from an atm. Don’t stock up too much. Many places are card only. I’ve been here 10 days and spent 25 pounds in cash…..

My wife found £20 & £10 notes from 2016. Are they still valid?

are they paper or polymer plastic? Paper - no. Polymer - yes. Rather than giving all the dates of each change, follow the above.

I think that £50 paper notes are still valid.

Sorry Nigel. Paper £50 notes withdrawn September 2022.

I'll go early to the bank when I go in mid May, and figure it's part of the trip experience! But what about coins? This thread, which gave me a laugh, sparked a memory. At Heathrow last trip I tried to buy coffee with coin pounds and was told they weren't any good. I already knew about the paper money, but really thought the guy was kidding when he refused my coins.. Was I just fooled by a Caffe Nero clerk ... or do "old" coins need to be changed as well? I'm happy to keep them as keepsakes but I'm curious.
Also I'll add my voice to others who say don't bring, or get, much cash. It's just not necessary.

The £1 coin did change and the old ones are no longer accepted. The old ones are basically a circle and the new ones have 12 edges. If you have old ones, donate them in a charity box.

nope, "Round Pounds" are no longer accepted. Your Pound should have 12 sides.

Also there is not a universal way set up to exchange them unlike for banknotes. The Royal Mint doesn't deal with individuals as the Bank of England is required to.

And there were signs at the Bank of England Teller windows yesterday saying they didn’t exchange coins.

Your Pound should have 12 sides.

Hmmm… every coin I’ve ever seen, even those with a shape other than a circle, had just two sides… heads, and tails. ;-)

Well question answered, and clearly, I should have known this. I will take them in May and donate.

When I arrived at the Bank of England yesterday there was a queue outside to join the queue inside. A security guard was directing people with small amounts to exchange to the Moorgate post office.

You do want to arrive early to do this transaction. If you are in line outside, there are probably 24 people waiting inside on marble benches. You could estimate 5-10 minutes per person, but often there are two people or more per one transaction as couples and families line up together. Expect 4 cashiers.

So, for 24 people inside, I would estimate 30-40 minutes wait time. Imperfect, but my best guess.

When I arrived at the Bank of England yesterday there was a queue
outside to join the queue inside. A security guard was directing
people with small amounts to exchange to the Moorgate post office.

Day before yesterday, I wandered up to the Bank with an old £20 note to exchange, and there was a line. The security guard said, yes, we're rather busy inside. A customer service rep standing there said I could join the queue, but gave me a sheet with printed directions to two Post Offices where I could exchange up to £300 of old notes. One was the Moorgate Post Office. I went there and was asked for ID (which I hadn't been asked for when I exchanged notes at the Bank a few years ago), but was given a nice new note. The other Post Office listed on the sheet was the City of London Post Office, near the Tower of London.

Also on the sheet, the URL for a page to find a participating Post Office location where you can exchange up to £300 in old notes: https://www.postoffice.co.uk/banknote-exchange

Thanks, Suz; this is really helpful. As I will only be in London for one afternoon on my trip next month, I am happy to see there are many alternatives all over the country.

Reported today that there are over £9 billion in paper banknotes that haven't been turned in, mostly in £20 notes.

I am currently in London. I had some old paper notes from a previous trip and I went to the authorized post office on Regent Street St.. James on a Saturday morning and exchanged them easily and quickly. In and out in five minutes. I did have to show my passport.

Wish I'd see this before my trip... I'm still stuck with 100 lbs in old bank notes. Figured out too late that almost nobody would exchange them. The post office we went to told them that only the Bank of England would exchange them, and there wasn't time to fit that in...

It probably varies by the denomination, but, in April, for a paper 20 GBP note, we were directed to a Post Office (Many have a desk in WH Smith stores) and they cheerfully exchanged it. Yes you may need a passport, but the guy at the counter was not too concerned about it, maybe if you had a large number of notes.

Only the most recent withdrawn series can be exchanged at a post office, older notes require a visit to the Bank of England.
https://www.postoffice.co.uk/banknote-exchange#:~:text=Exchange%20paper%20Bank%20of%20England,£300%20every%20two%20years.

The Bank of England has an interesting money museum.

Are you saying that we need to have £ with King Charles only? We have some that we purchased for our trip at the Scotiabank. Do we have to get them all exchanged?

Shelley, no, a few years ago the UK got rid of its paper bills and replaced them with polymer like we have in Canada. The deadline has passed to use the paper bills and if you still have any you have to get them replaced. If you got them recently from Scotiabank you'll be fine.

Are you saying that we need to have £ with King Charles only?

There are none of these around yet (next year), and even then the existing QEII polymer notes will continue to circulate until worn out, reportedly following the wishes of the King.

Thank you! Thank you for the clarification! Paper notes. That makes perfect sense. PHEW. We are good then.

Appreciate your explanations. :)

It was great fun in the days before we changed to decimal currency - coins from the reign of Queen Victoria through to Queen Eliuzabeth were in circulation.