The Bank of England has released the new plastic £50 note featuring Alan Turing into circulation.
But what happens to old £50 paper notes, can you still use them and when will they expire?
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The new £50 is the last of the new plastic notes to go in to circulation, following the £20, the £10, and the £5 bank notes.
For the first time all notes will have a version that is made of a polymer, which makes cash more secure and and durable compared to old paper notes.
There are two windows and two-colour foils which make the note more difficult to fake, while the polymer material is waterproof and harder to rip, making them last longer.
Plastic notes have been replacing paper versions since 2016 when the new £5 was rolled out.
The new £50 features famous second world war codebreaker Alan Turing and was released on June 23, 2021, which is Turing’s birthday.
Turing on the £50 note joins Winston Churchill on the £5 note, Jane Austen on the £10 note and JMW Turner on the £20 note.
There are currently 300 million £50 notes in circulation, with a combined value of £16.5billion.
Can I still use the old £50 note and what is the expiry date?
Old paper £50 notes can continue to be used after the new polymer Alan Turing version has been released into circulation.
The paper £50 note was first issued on November 2, 2011 and it features Matthew Boulton and James Watt.
The English manufacturer and Scottish engineer joined forces to produce marine and stationary steam engines.
The Bank of England has said these £50 notes can be used until September 30 2022.
The note will be withdrawn from circulation from this date.
The old £20 note will also be withdrawn from this date too.
A new plastic £20 featuring artist JMW Turner went into circulation in February 2020.
Shoppers will either need to spend or deposit into a bank old £50 and £20 notes before September 30 2022.
Until then, you can use either of the £50 notes – paper or polymer – when you’re paying in shops and other locations.
How do you exchange old £50 notes?
Anyone who misses the date for spending or depositing the old paper £50 note won’t lose out.
The BoE give at least six months notice of a notes official use expiring and after that, you can still exchange it for the equivalent legal tender.
You will be able to exchange it for a new one at certain places and this is the same for any other old notes you have knocking about.
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Old paper £5 notes ceased to be legal tender from May 2017 and the paper £10 note was withdrawn in March 2018.
The old £5 featured Elizabeth Fry and the old tenner had the face of Charles Darwin on it.
You can also continue using the old £20 note as this hasn’t bee withdrawn yet.
If you have an old note that is no longer in circulation, you can exchange it for a new one.
Many banks will still accept them as deposits from customers.
The Post Office may also accept withdrawn notes as a deposit into any bank account.
And you can always exchange withdrawn notes with the Bank of England directly, so you shouldn’t ever lose money.
You can exchange your old notes with the cashier in person at the central bank located on Threadneedle Street in London.
You can also do it by post if you don’t live close or are overseas.
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For either post or in-person exchange you’ll need to ID and there other requirements too, including a form to fill in too.
You can find the full guidance on the Bank of England’s website.
When the £50 does expire, you’ll be able to exchange this too.
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