Three-week warning on paper banknotes

However, with the recent death of the Queen, it is likely bank notes will be replaced with new ones featuring an image of King Charles III in time.

The Bank of England first announced the paper £20 and £50 notes were set to be stop being legal tender last year​​ (June) – which was the exactly one year after the polymer £50 note was released.

It came as the polymer £50 note entered circulation for the first time, joining its £5, £10 and £20 counterparts.

In June this year, the Bank of England urged anyone who still has paper notes to use or deposit them​​.

Note information​

At that time, it was estimated there was still more than £6bn worth of paper notes in circulation and more than £8bn worth of paper £50 notes.

After 30 September, customers are no longer able to use paper notes in pubs however, many banks will accept them as deposits as will some Post Offices.

From 1 October onwards, only polymer notes will have legal tender status.

The new £20 note entered circulation on 20 February 2020 and features English Romantic artist JMW Turner.

The polymer £50 note entered circulation on 23 June 2021 and has mathematician and scientist Alan Turing on it.

Security features​

There are two key security features on the polymer £20 note, which are a hologram image change where the words change between ‘twenty’ and ‘pounds’ when tilted side to side.

The other key feature is the foil on the metallic image over the main window is blue and gold on the front and silver on the back. There should also be a smaller, second window in the bottom corner of the note.

Find out further things you need to know about the polymer £20 note including more security features here​.

This is similar on the £50 note but the hologram changes between ‘fifty’ and ‘pounds’ and the image within the two gold foil squares changes between ‘50’ and a ‘£’ symbol when the note is tilted.