By September 30, Old £20, £50 Paper Notes Will Become Useless, Bank Of England Warns

Nigerians still hoarding old paper notes of £20 and £50 will be unable to use them after September 30, 2022, as they have only three days left before the notes cease to be a legal tender.

The Bank of England (BOE) issued a new £20 and £50 notes made of polymer and will no longer be accepting these old banknotes as a medium of exchange after the expiration of the deadline.

“This is the last week that our paper banknotes can still be used,” the Bank of England said in a warning issued on its website.

According to the BOE, there are still over £5bn worth of paper £20 featuring the economist Adam Smith, and nearly £6bn worth of paper £50 banknotes featuring the engineers Boulton and Watt, in circulation.

The bank said more than 250 million individual £20 banknotes, and more than 110 million paper £50 banknotes are still in circulation.

“We have issued new £20 and £50 notes made of polymer. 30 September 2022 is the last day you can use our paper £20 and £50 notes for retail purposes. However, there is no need to worry as withdrawn notes can always be exchanged at the Bank of England for new notes at any time after this date.

On how to exchange the currency, the bank said anyone with a UK bank account would still be able to deposit them at their bank, or into their account at a Post Office.

Also, customers can exchange withdrawn banknotes with the Bank of England, including by post.

But banks in Nigeria had notified customers that they would no longer accept the old notes at the end of 2021 year.