A Deadline You Need to Take Note Of

Every so often there comes along a new government rule in finance that we all have to take note of. The latest one is that we all have to swap out our fifty pound notes.

Don’t sound the alarm just yet, Kiran Trivedi readers, it doesn’t mean all your 50 pound notes (if we’re lucky enough to have them), just the old style ones with the face of Sir John Houblon on the front. This note was first introduced into circulation in 1994.

This old style of fifty pound note is being withdrawn from circulation by the Bank of England. They will be accepted as legal tender until 30^th April this year, and then retailers and some banks, by law have the right to refuse the note after this deadline has expired.

This is actually quite a common practise when it comes to legal tender. More generally, coins after a certain amount of time in circulation and melted down and notes are burned.

It’s a system that has been put in place to prevent the money from being used illegally. Notes are usually withdrawn from circulation as a whole if they have become obsolete due to new technologies in the money industry.

The particular banknote in question is the fifty pound note depicting the face of Sir John Houblon, the Bank of England’s first ever governor. It is set to be replaced by a note featuring Matthew Boulton and James Watt.; a pair famous for manufacturing coins that are hard to counterfeit. This new note entered circulation in 2011.  

The rules are as thus. Anybody who has this note has up to 30^th April to do so. Up to this date they can have any amount they want exchanged at any bank and receive the full value in exchange. After 30^th April, the rules will change.

Some British banks, notably Barclays, NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank and the Post Office have agreed to keep on exchanging the notes until 30^th October this year. However there will be a limit of £200 worth per transaction. After this date, only the Bank of England itself will have the authority to exchange notes; by law it always has the authority to exchange notes that are no longer legal tender.

So it goes like this. Exchange those notes as quickly as possible; to do so after 30^th April will only cause you more stress that you don’t need.