Nigerian banks plans to stop accepting old £20 and £50 notes by end of 2021

Nigerian deposit money banks set to stop the acceptance of the old £20 and £50 notes as the legal tender status of these notes expire in less than a year.

This is in line with the announcement by The Bank of England to withdraw the legal tender status of the paper £20 and £50 paper notes and replace them with their polymer equivalent, with a deadline of September 30, 2022.

With the move in progress, Nigeria banks have a small window to discontinue acceptance of these notes, as some banks have already contacted their consumers about the development.

According to a press release by the Bank of England, the bank stated that it will be withdrawing the legal tender status of the paper £20 and £50 notes after 30th September 2022, and is encouraging anyone who has these notes at home to spend or deposit them at their bank or Post Office.

The Bank stated, “There are approximately £9 billion worth of paper £20 and £15 billion worth of paper £50 notes still in circulation. As they are returned to the Bank of England, these are being replaced with the new polymer £20 notes featuring J.M.W. Turner, and polymer £50 notes featuring Alan Turing. After 30th September 2022, the new polymer notes will be the only ones with legal tender status.

“After 30th September 2022 people with a UK bank account will still be able to deposit withdrawn notes into their account. Some Post Offices may also accept withdrawn notes as payment for goods and services or as a deposit to an account accessed via them.”