The Bank of England will be withdrawing legal-tender status of the paper £20 and £50 notes in less than six months. Consumers are being encouraged to spend their paper notes and deposit them at their local bank or Post Office.

It is estimated there is around £7bn-worth of paper £20 notes and £10.5bn-worth of paper £50 notes still in circulation, so you may notice more customers coming into store looking to spend or deposit their notes ahead of 30 September 2022.

Polymer notes have been introduced because their designs are more difficult to counterfeit and they are more durable. This is to be welcomed, because the ACS 2022 Crime Report revealed the most common type of fraud experienced by local shops was the use of counterfeit notes by customers.

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Counterfeiters tend to target businesses where they know their banknotes aren’t likely to be checked, so it is advised that retailers check notes at the point of sale to send a message to customers that your business has a strong policy on checking for counterfeit notes.

Checking banknotes is a quick and easy process and will help you to avoid falling victim to the use of fake banknotes.

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The Bank of England has a range of educational materials, including an online training video, which can be used by businesses to make sure they are familiar with the security features of the new polymer notes.

More information about how to check banknotes and a reporting form you can use to report counterfeit notes is available on the Bank of England’s website. In addition to educational and training materials for staff, the Bank of England has developed posters you can use in store to remind customers about the deadline.

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