Edward Elgar £20 notes in UK
So I got a few £20 notes which were intended to be given as pocket money on a child's trip to UK. As the notes looked differently and some were older than other I realized that:
Elgar £20 note no longer legal tender
This means that shops no longer have to accept the notes, and it is up to banks whether they agree to swap notes after this date.
[...]
After June 30 if a bank or building society refuses to swap a note, consumers have the right to swap the notes at the Bank of England itself. The Bank promises that it will honour the face value of any note issued, even notes from before the Second World War.
The quote is coming from 2010. I wonder what is the reality about accepting the notes now? Except the mentioned swap at the Bank of England as the article suggests, can the notes be used in everyday (esp. tourist) situations: can the old notes be used in shops, including in airport shops, to buy train tickets? Would a taxi driver accept them? Would I be able to swap them at other banks, not just the Bank of England, is it something doable right in the airport on arrival?
Also - this is already not a part of the question, rather bonus reading - here in Ukraine in one of the state banks I was told that they cannot accept Elgar £20 notes exactly for the reason that they are withdrawn. To top my GBP account I could only use current banknotes.
Best Answer
Differences Between Notes
It is very rare now to see the old style £20 bank notes in UK. Normally when the Bank of England changed the notes they stayed mostly the same but just had a different picture. However with the level of fraud encountered with the old style notes, the bank radically changed the design of the new style £20 note.
Below are specimen notes produced by the bank. The current note:
The old Elgar £20 note:
As they look significantly different and are very uncommon now, most shops and traders will reject them. You probably will not be able to spend them in larger shops either as staff tend to reject any notes that they are not use to. This includes notes issued by the Bank of Scotland which also look different to the English £20 note.
Exchanging Notes
As well as being able to exchange notes in person at the Bank of England, you can also exchange them by post. Upto £999 pounds can be exchanged without ID and the money can be returned as cash (upto £50), a sterling check or paid into a sterling bank account. Overseas bank accounts are accepted as long as a BIC/SWIFT number and IBAN is provided.
The instructions of how to do this and the address to send the notes to can be found on the Bank of England's website.
Exchanging for an individual via the post
Image References
- Current £20 Note - https://www.flickr.com/photos/bankofengland/25276305065/in/album-72157662787666013/ - www.bankofengland.co.uk - CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0
- Old Elgar Note - http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Documents/withdrawnrefguide.pdf
Pictures about "Edward Elgar £20 notes in UK"
Can I change old Elgar 20 notes at the bank?
Banks, building societies and post offices will only exchange the note for a newer replacement at each institution's discretion after then. From 1 July, customers may find they can only swap it by sending it back to the Bank of England.Are old 20 notes still valid in England?
Exchanging old notes30 September 2022 is the last day you can use our paper \xa320 and \xa350 notes. Many banks will accept withdrawn notes as deposits from customers. The Post Office may also accept withdrawn notes as a deposit into any bank account you can access at the Post Office.Can you still use old 20 notes 2021 UK?
The Bank of England will be withdrawing legal tender status of the paper \xa320 and \xa350 notes after 30 September 2022, and we are encouraging anyone who has these at home to spend or deposit them at their bank or Post Office.Can you still use old 20 pound notes in a shop?
The \xa320 note going out of circulation means you will not be able to use the notes in shops, but you will be able to exchange them for new notes. Some banks and the Post Office may also accept them if you wish to deposit them into your bank account.The Best of Elgar
More answers regarding edward Elgar £20 notes in UK
Answer 2
I've personally had good luck feeding out-of-date notes to the automatic check out machines in supermarkets. Could be worth a try.
Banks will be disinclined to help you if you are not a customer of theirs. THe Bank of England is not an especially pracitcal location to visit.
Answer 3
2017 update.
I have been given some out of date pound notes and coins, mixed with current money.
The high street banks and building societies in England would only deposed the old money into an account with the same bank, and only the more recent notes and coins. The post office did not want to do anything, 'We do not do that at all.'
The bank that did accept the coins into an UK bank account did send us on to the Bank of England website.
On that site they mention they will exchange old bank notes for new if you live within England, send a check or pay into a bank account. And for the 'pay into a bank account' they ask for international details if you want the money send to a bank out of the UK.
That same site also mentions you can visit in person and have your money sorted there. Under 1000 pound no ID is needed, for bigger amounts it is.
The bank of England does not do coins, the Mint handles those but on their site they just send people to their banks who will allow them to be handed in when you have an account there. For a few coins, handing them to charities is a good suggestion, but tourist who have quite a few will be having difficulties getting their value.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Anthony, MART PRODUCTION, Alaur Rahman, Red Zeppelin