All Elgar £20 notes are being withdrawn from circulation by the Bank of England, but what does it mean for you and what can you do with your old notes?
What does it mean?
From the 30th June this year, £20 notes which feature the image of composer, Sir Edward Elgar, will no longer be legal tender. This means that you won’t be able to spend the Elgar notes in shops and only the £20 notes featuring Scottish economist Adam Smith, will now be legal.
What can you do with your old notes?
Although the Elgar notes are no longer legal tender, most banks, building societies and the Post Office will still allow you to deposit them in your account or use them for other transactions for the next few months. However, exchanging your Elgar’s for Smith’s is entirely at the discretion of your bank or building society.
You can also exchange your Elgar’s at face value directly with the Bank of England. This can either be done in person or by sending your money to their headquarters on Threadneedle Street in London. Of course, sending your money via post or courier is done entirely at your own risk.
What should you do?
It is estimated that there are still £150 million of the Elgar notes in circulation. So if you are in the habit of keeping your cash at home, it would be better to have a sort through it sooner rather than later and save yourself a trip to the Bank of England!
