Post Offices prepare for rush of customers depositing paper £20 and £50 banknotes by Friday deadline
Post Office’s 11,500 branches are preparing for a rush of customers depositing paper £20 and £50 banknotes before they lose legal tender status this Friday, 30 September
Since January, over £1.2 billion worth of paper £20 and £50 banknotes have been deposited at Post Offices
Bank of England have said there’s still £6 billion worth of paper £20 banknotes and £8 billion worth of paper £50 banknotes in circulation
Post Office’s 11,500 branches are preparing for a rush of customers this week depositing paper £20 and £50 banknotes before they lose legal tender status this Friday (30 September).
To date, £1.2 billion worth of paper £20 and £50 banknotes have been deposited at Post Office’s 11,500 branches. That’s been made up of £372 million worth of paper £20 banknotes and £820 million worth of £50 banknotes.
January saw the highest value of £20 and £50 banknotes deposited at Post Offices at £168.5 million. So far this month, over £100 million worth of the notes have been deposited at Post Offices.
Postmasters have their branches set up to handle large volumes of cash with over £3 billion in cash deposited and withdrawn at Post Offices every single month.
Martin Kearsley, Post Office Banking Director, said:
“We’re fully aware that people lead busy lives and some may put off depositing their paper £20 and £50 banknotes until the last moment. Postmasters and their staff are on hand to provide that human reassurance that your old notes have been deposited into your bank account and will provide a receipt too. Most Post Offices are open long hours including on Friday.”
On 30 September 2022, paper £20 and £50 banknotes will lose their legal tender status. The Bank of England has said there’s still £6 billion worth of paper £20 banknotes and £8 billion worth of paper £50 banknotes in circulation.
Once the 30 September 2022 deadline passes and the Bank of England has withdrawn the legal tender status of paper £20 and £50 banknotes, people will still be able to deposit paper notes at their Post Office.