Removal of Paper £20 and £50 Notes

As of the 30th of September, paper £20 and £50 notes will no longer be legal tender, with their Polymer alternative becoming the only legal tender for that denomination. 

England:

• The Bank of England will be withdrawing legal tender status of the paper £20 and £50 notes from 30th September 2022.

Scotland:

• Paper £20 and £50 notes issued by Clydesdale Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland will be withdrawn on 30th September 2022.

Northern Ireland:

• Paper £20 notes issued by Bank of Ireland, Danske Bank and Ulster Bank will be withdrawn withdrawn on 30th September 2022.
• First Trust banknotes will cease to be legal currency after midnight on 30 June 2022.
• A further announcement on paper £50 notes issued by Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank will be made later.

An update for the Cashmaster device will be issued in August, which will disable the paper notes by default on all new devices. 

The new £100 Scottish polymer banknote is due to be released into circulation next month after being released to the public last week.

The choice of design for the Bank of Scotland £100 polymer note, will continue the theme of the 'the bridge series'. The new note will feature another famous Scot, Dr Flora Murray, CBE (1869-1923), the Scottish medical pioneer and suffragette.

In addition to the image of Dr Murray, the front of the new note portrays the Scottish novelist and poet, Sir Walter Scott, alongside an image of The Mound in Edinburgh.

The note has important security features which include an anti-counterfeit transparent window within The Mound and a transparent vertical stripe on the front of the note.

The new £50 English polymer banknote is due to be released on June 23rd 2021 after a virtual public unveiling took place and will eventually take the place of our current £50 paper notes.

The choice of design for the Bank of England £50 polymer note has been created in celebration of the field of science and features Alan Turing, famous for his pioneering work in science and theoretical underpinnings for the modern computer. He was among the 12 finalists selected by public voting from a list of 989 eligible characters, before being chosen, before being chosen as the winner by the Governor of the Bank of England.

 

Online Training Resources

Counting Polymer Notes