Deadline to spend old £10 notes rapidly approaching, Bank of England warns

23 Feb 2018

The Bank of England (BoE) has warned that the deadline for spending old £10 notes is rapidly approaching.

Paper £10 notes, which feature a portrait of naturalist Charles Darwin, will be demonetised on 1 March 2018. After this time, the new polymer £10 note will be the only note with legal tender status.

Data from the BoE has revealed that, despite 73% of £10 notes currently in circulation being the new polymer type, there are still around 211 million old paper £10 notes left in circulation in the UK.

The BoE is urging consumers to spend their old £10 notes before the 1 March deadline. Individuals will also be able to exchange them for new polymer ones after this time.

The new polymer £10 note came into circulation on 14 September 2017, and depicts author Jane Austen on the back. ‘Tactile’ features for the blind and partially-sighted are also included on the new note.

Plans are in place to introduce a new polymer £20 note in 2020. There are no plans currently in place to replace the paper £50 note.

More information on the new £10 note can be found here.