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Bloomberg
UK consumers have just one year left to spend about $32 billion of paper 20- and 50-pound notes as the Bank of England (BOE) withdraws them from circulation.
The notes, which have been superseded by polymer equivalents featuring artist JMW Turner and mathematician Alan Turing, will no longer be accepted in shops after September 30, 2022, the BOE said on Wednesday.
They are the last paper notes to hold legal tender status after the bank shifted to a polymer series that its says offer better security and are longer-lasting. Britons will still be able to deposit the old paper notes in banks, or exchange them at the BOE, after they become obsolete.
BOE Reinforces Option for Rate Hike This Year
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey moved to reinforce the option that interest rates could rise as early as this year while cautioning about the limits of monetary policy to balance diverging forces in the UK economy.
The central bank’s key rate would become the tool of tightening policy to tame inflation, even before the current bond-buying program expires if necessary, Bailey said in a speech. Moving too soon, however, could disrupt the UK’s still nascent economic recovery, Bailey said.