From tomorrow (Saturday 1 October), the only legal tender in terms of cash will be the polymer versions of bank notes for all denominations.
Many UK banks will accept withdrawn notes and some Post Offices may also accept them as a deposit into a bank account.
The Bank of England will always exchange any withdrawn notes, including paper notes that have been withdrawn in the past.
Last chance
The polymer £20 note features English Romantic artist JMW Turner and entered circulation more than two years ago on 20 February 2020.
Furthermore, the new £50 note entered circulation on 23 June last year and has mathematician and scientist Alan Turing on it.
The first of the polymer notes introduced was the £5, which was issued on 13 September 2016, featuring Winston Churchill.
This was followed by the £10 in September the following year, showing novelist Jane Austen on it.
Security features
The polymer notes have various security features. This includes a large see-through window and a portrait of The Queen printed on the window with the numerical value of the note and the words ‘Bank of England’ printed twice around the edge.
Other security features to look out for are a metallic image positioned over the window and coloured foil.
The £5 and £10 have gold foil on the front, the £20 note has gold and blue on the front and the £50 has gold and green. The foil is silver on the back of all notes.
On the higher denominations (£20 and £50), there is a second smaller window in the bottom corner.
