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When do old £20 notes expire? It’s the question everyone is asking as the plastic, polymer notes are set to replace the standard paper ones for good this year.
The new plastic note has been in circulation since last year and features a new image along with improved security features. It’s already been dubbed ‘the most secure banknote yet’ due to the new safety elements, which include a hologram and transparent window. Along with the new £50 note, it’s just one of the newly-released bank notes from the Bank of England.
But with many warnings about paying with cash in a supermarket due to hygiene reasons, millions of people still have the old £20 note lying around unspent.
When do old £20 notes expire?
There currently isn’t a date for when the old £20 notes expire. The Bank of England has said on their website, “Don’t worry, you can still use the paper £20 note for now.
“We’ll give you 6 months’ notice of the date you’ll no longer be able to use the paper £20.”
This means that if the notes were to expire in April 2021, you’d still be able to use them until at least October 2021.
There will be six month’s notice before the old £20 notes can’t be used any more. (Credit: Getty)
Can you still use paper £20 notes?
Yes, you can continue to use paper £20 notes to make purchases at the moment. You have until the Bank of England announces an expiry date to be able to use them.
Then, when the Bank of England has announced they’re expiring, you have half a year to either exchange the old notes for new ones or spend the money.
A statement on their website reads, “You will still be able to use the paper £20 note until we withdraw it from circulation. We will announce the withdrawal date after we have issued our new polymer £20 note. We will give six months’ notice of this withdrawal date.”
They have also said that many banks will still accept the “withdrawn notes as deposits from customers” and so will The Post Office. You can also exchange the paper notes for the new polymer ones directly at the Bank of England.
What’s different about the new polymer note?
There are some key differences between the old paper note and the new polymer one.
New security features make it harder for the note to be copied and forgeries to be made. Among them is a new hologram image that changes between the words ‘Twenty’ and ‘Pounds’ and there’s a small see-through window in the bottom corner of the note. There is also a portrait of the Queen which is printed on the window with ‘£20 Bank of England’ printed around the edge.
The polymer material, along with making the note waterproof and much harder to rip, also ensures that the printed lines and colours on the note stay sharp and without smudges or blurred lines.
The economist Adam Smith appears on the original paper £20 note, while the new polymer note features the artist JMW Turner. The self-portrait of the Romantic-era artist was painted in 1799 and is on display at Tate Britain in London.
The other image that appears on the note is a painting of Turner’s called The Fighting Temeraire. It’s a tribute to the ship HMS Temeraire which was involved in Admiral Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in the early 19th century.
