how to exchange old for new UK currency from Australia

[Ajcevu]

Hi community - I was hoping to travel to the UK last week. For family reasons I am unlikely to get the chance again for 7-10 years. I have about 500 GBP of 20 pound notes, which have just changed over in the UK from paper to polymer. I understand that the paper ones can be indefinitely swapped over in London, but I was wondering if anyone knows of anywhere it can be done in Australia? My bank (Commonwealth) don't do it and neither do Travelex. i don't want to change them back for $A, i'd like to change old English 20 pound notes for new ones. Thanks for any suggestions

 

[jastel]

Cant help with a proper answer...unless maybe you "sell" your old ones back to A$ and then buy new pound ones, but only IF they give you new notes...yes, I know there will be currency loss...I didnt say it was a good idea.

Best bet would be find someone who has to travel there sooner and they can buy them from you.

I was stuck with some paper 5 and 10 pound notes (about 200 pounds or so) on my last visit...apparently BOTH were accepted for a year or something but by the time I got there it was polymer only in the shops and only the main Bank of England was required to take them.
I visited about 10 banks around where I was staying and finally got rid of them, several banks outright refused, some had limits and gave me a little bit each.

Now I have to worry about my 20 pound notes next time again...grrr!

I still occasionally get paper $20, $50 and $100 notes from tourists which I take.

 

[theblank]

but I was wondering if anyone knows of anywhere it can be done in Australia? My bank (Commonwealth) don't do it and neither do Travelex. i don't want to change them back for $A, i'd like to change old English 20 pound notes for new ones. Thanks for any suggestions

buckleys chance - no reason why anyone would want to.

 

[VPS]

Try another Travelex branch - just walk in and ask

 

[drron]

We went to the UK last year and looked into this as we had a substantial amount of the old notes.Basically it came to being only able to change them at the Bank of England in Threadneedle street.If you have a UK bank account you can do it through your own bank but not for us colonials.It was no problems doing it though.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

I have a passing interest in currency as numismatic.

My suggestion is to wait until you or someone you know is willing to get to the Bank of England or exchange into Australian currency.

A few options if you are willing to sell the pounds into Australian currency.

1) A medium size exchange office like Unimoni (formerly known as UAE Exchange) might be willing to accept old pounds at this time.
2) Some independent currency/numismatics business might take some in good/crisp condition.
3) Sell on eBay. Technically currency should not be sent by post but ‘numismatic’ might be legal to send. But I feel it’s best you wait until post COVID lockdown.

If it was me, I’d wait til I got to the Uk even if it was say two years away, but 7-10 years is a bit of a stretch.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

I should add that the old paper £20 pound is still legal tender together with the polymer £20 pound. The polymer £20 was introduced in February. The Bank of England will give 6 month notice when the paper £20 will be withdrawn from circulation and thus effectively not legal tender. No notice has been given yet.

With the recent introduction of the polymer and the flight restrictions, you actually might find it a little difficult finding polymer £20 in Australia.

I’m not aware of any business that would exchange a foreign currency note for the new version for free. So you are really relying on finding an employee who has polymer £20 in stock and who feels like being helpful for free.

 

[Chalkie]

This provides information from the Bank of England on notes exchange: Bank of England Withdrawn Notes Exchange. I've used this service in the past (when I discovered I had a bundle of the old £10 notes), but I have a UK bank account so I could paid directly.

The Bank of England says you can exchange withdrawn notes indefinitely, so even if you don't get back to the UK for 7 to 10 years, you should still be able to exchange your notes at the Bank of England.

 

[Rod James]

This provides information from the Bank of England on notes exchange: Bank of England Withdrawn Notes Exchange. I've used this service in the past (when I discovered I had a bundle of the old £10 notes), but I have a UK bank account so I could paid directly.

The Bank of England says you can exchange withdrawn notes indefinitely, so even if you don't get back to the UK for 7 to 10 years, you should still be able to exchange your notes at the Bank of England.

Well advised. Much the same as Australia. Old paper notes are still legal currency here.

 

[Flashback]

This provides information from the Bank of England on notes exchange: Bank of England Withdrawn Notes Exchange. I've used this service in the past (when I discovered I had a bundle of the old £10 notes), but I have a UK bank account so I could paid directly.

The Bank of England says you can exchange withdrawn notes indefinitely, so even if you don't get back to the UK for 7 to 10 years, you should still be able to exchange your notes at the Bank of England.

Exactly this, BoE will swap them for as long as you live. If you need the money sooner, arrange to swap with someone you know who will be travelling soon and could use them or alternatively post to someone in the UK but that obviously has risks around delivery making it there safely etc.

 

[p--and--t]

We went to the UK last year and looked into this as we had a substantial amount of the old notes.Basically it came to being only able to change them at the Bank of England in Threadneedle street.If you have a UK bank account you can do it through your own bank but not for us colonials.It was no problems doing it though.

YMMV, but last year I was in Northern Ireland and had some larger notes GBP notes from a previous trip I wanted to change to smaller currency and just wandered into a small branch of a bank, not sure which one. The teller said the notes were old and had been withdrawn. I produced my passport and asked what should I do, could she help me out. She went out the back to discuss with a supervisor and came back saying, we will take care of it, what small change would you like?

 

[Flashback]

YMMV, but last year I was in Northern Ireland and had some larger notes GBP notes from a previous trip I wanted to change to smaller currency and just wandered into a small branch of a bank, not sure which one. The teller said the notes were old and had been withdrawn. I produced my passport and asked what should I do, could she help me out. She went out the back to discuss with a supervisor and came back saying, we will take care of it, what small change would you like?

Not expected but nice when they do help. Had similar experiences when trying to deposit coins purchased from the mint, not obligated to accept but some did.

 

[PineappleSkip]

Mrs pineapple exchanged her old pound notes at the post office, no worries, but not handy if you are not in the UK, so sorry, no advice for the OP.

We also have a modest pile of old £1 coins. Not looking likely we can change these, according to Royal Mint

cheers skip

 

[Dennis Colquitt]

Mrs pineapple exchanged her old pound notes at the post office, no worries, but not handy if you are not in the UK, so sorry, no advice for the OP.

We also have a modest pile of old £1 coins. Not looking likely we can change these, according to Royal Mint

cheers skip

Me TOO SKIP. got a modest pile of pound coins, which will no doubt end up in my collection of coins from all over the world after 60 years of travel.
In another vein these changes are all suspiciously looking like cash in any form is for collectors only Apres Covid-19

 

[CMA222]

Same problem for me with about 800 pounds in old notes.
I went to the CBA and they sent me to the RBA. The RBA referred me to the Bank of England.
The BoE email address is [email protected]
I contacted BoE and they replied within the same business day as follows:

Thank you for your email.

You may be interested to know that all genuine Bank of England notes that have been withdrawn from circulation retain their face value for all time and can be exchanged with the Bank of England in London. Any such notes may be presented for payment either in person during business hours (there is no need to make an appointment), or sent to us by post.

There is no fee for this service, and no limit to the amount of banknotes you can exchange. Please note that you may need to provide proof of ID for any exchange of any value, or to provide more information or evidence to support the origin of the banknotes.

To find out more about exchanging withdrawn Bank of England notes, including our opening hours, address, acceptable proof of ID, and to download the form that you will need to fill in and send with your banknotes should you wish to exchange notes by post, please visit

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes

I hope the above information is of assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any further questions.

Kind regards
(staff members name)
Engagement and Enquiries | Communications
Bank of England | Threadneedle St | London EC2R 8AH | +44 (0)20 3461 4878

If I recall the instructions correctly if you return the notes by post they will send a bank cheque in pounds sterling which is not the desired outcome as they are just exchanging the notes for a BoE cheque.

I still have my notes. Perhaps all those wishing to swap old notes for new notes should PM one another and the first AFFer that travels or has a contact that travels might be able to do a swap for us all ??

 

[PineappleSkip]

A foreign currency cheque is something you can negotiate here, AFAIK. Here is one bank's advice - and I think the others would also have procedures. I'm sure there would be a handsome fee involved but probably not ₤800

Cheers skip

 

[jastel]

Most businesses in Australia are not taking legal tender...

I also remember once I had Northern Irish and Scottish pounds that no shop would take and so I had to find a real bank...this was back in the day when CC were for hotels and flights only not lunch at McDonalds.

Many poor countries will only take US$ and not their own currency, but only nice fresh crisp ones. More than one fold and it is like toilet paper to them...actually they may accept toilet paper now??

You get caught everywhere.

 

[Willie]

I changed old ₤s happily at a currency shop on Oxford St - there was a small fee of ₤2 per ₤100
If you have time I would recommend an excursion to the to Bank of England.
Follow the cash swap with a visit to The Ned www.thened.com across the road at 27 Poultry for a classic Reuben Sandwich and/or a Lobster Roll at Zobler's Deli... accompany it with a Negroni.
It is a great space and place, but may not be open right now due to... well... you know why!

Ooh Roo

Willie-

 

[Flashback]

Most businesses in Australia are not taking legal tender...

I also remember once I had Northern Irish and Scottish pounds that no shop would take and so I had to find a real bank...this was back in the day when CC were for hotels and flights only not lunch at McDonlads.

Many poor countries will only take US$ and not their own currency, but only nice fresh crisp ones. More than one fold and it is like toilet paper to them...actually they may accept toilet paper now??

You get caught everywhere.

I've run into that in Myanmar, definitely. Nothing but brand new'ish looking notes or no cigar. Haven't run into it in any other countries though. I always go prepared with Myanmar-friendly style notes but the first thing I always try is a nice tatty note that I have. In Myanmar they wouldn't change it, everywhere else I've tried no worries.

 

[AIRwin]

If you have time I would recommend an excursion to the to Bank of England.

There is also a museum:

Museum

Discover our history and the role we play in the economy today

www.bankofengland.co.uk