At the end of our visit to the United Kingdom in 2019 we had about £340 made up of £50 and £20 notes and coins. We opted to keep this and not convert ii back into NZ$. As part of our preparation for our 2023 trip to the United Kingdom we decided to buy some more pounds sterling and duly purchased some through the Westpac Bank.

We picked these up on Monday of this week and Barbara noticed that the £20 notes were different in feel, appearance and size to the £20 notes we had from 2019. We did not get any new £50 notes.

 

On Wednesday we were picking up some documentation from our travel agent and Barbara mentioned by chance that the new pound notes were different to our old ones.  Our agent said oh yes the UK Government had changed all their bank notes over the last couple of years and the old ones were no longer legal tender, ie they would no longer be accepted in shops, on public transport etc. She thought they could be exchanged at a bank like for example Lloyds.

Some searching on Google informed us it was not quite as simple as that. The old notes were phased out because they are paper and the new notes are polymer and have a much longer service life. The good news is that old notes can always be exchanged for new notes and there is no deadline.

There are a few options to exchange your old notes:

• At some post offices (five branches in London) and a limit of £300 in two years
• At your bank. They will credit the old notes to your account. We don’t have any bank account in the UK
• By post to the Bank of England. Mail them at your own risk and they can deposit into a bank account or mail new notes to you, can take up to 90 days
• At the Bank of England Threadneedle Street London. Join the queue. You will need photo ID and the usual type of document showing your current address. They will exchange old notes for new.

When we arrive in London we will try the Bank of England first and second choice one of the post offices.

The Bank of England in Threadneedle Street is the headquarters of the central bank of the UK and worth a visit in its own rite. The Bank of England was founded in 1694 and has been in this location since 1734. The present building dates from the 1920s, is in a neo classical style, and is the most iconic building in London’s financial centre known as “the City”.