Long queue as Britons rush to exchange paper banknotes before deadline

Consumers are queuing to exchange their old paper banknotes for new plastic versions, just over a fortnight as the old £20 and £50 paper notes cease to be legal tender from next month, completing the changeover to polymer-based banknotes to bolster durability and security. 

According to the bank’s website, as a result of “very high demand”, customers have had to wait more than an hour in recent days at its headquarters at Threadneedle Street in the City of London. 

It said customers arriving after 2pm may not get served because the counter where notes can be exchanged is open only between 9.30am and 3pm. 

“There will be long queues and you may encounter waiting times in excess of an hour,” the Bank warned. “We would ask that you kindly consider the long wait times when travelling to the Bank to undertake an in-person exchange.” 

The Bank has suggested that customers who do not need to use the paper money immediately can send their old banknotes to its offices by post. 

The Bank of England has revealed it is seeing queues as holders of paper banknotes try to exchange them at its headquarters at Threadneedle Street in the City of London. 

Although it was reported that there is no deadline for exchanging the notes. However there has been a rush to exchange them as they will no longer be accepted in shops or by businesses 

Holders of old paper banknotes, including those based outside the UK, have been contacting the Bank on social media to ask whether the notes will be left worthless which bank tweeted back that they “retain their face value for all time and can be exchanged with the Bank of England in London”.

You may be interested to know that all genuine Bank of England notes that have been or are soon-to-be withdrawn from circulation retain their face value for all time and can be exchanged with the Bank of England in London. For further information, see: https://t.co/MXIZfBZO0s

— Bank of England (@bankofengland) September 13, 2022

Polymer banknotes were introduced by the Bank in 2016, ending 320 years of paper money in Britain, with the £5 note featuring Sir Winston Churchill the first to be switched. 

New £20 notes featuring the artist JMW Turner were issued in February 2020, followed by the polymer £50 banknote featuring the Bletchley Park codebreaker and scientist Alan Turing in June 2021.