Has the Bank of England withdrawn existing £20 and £50 Notes

If you happen to have any £20 or £50 notes stashed away following your last trip to the UK, you may be interested to know that they will soon become worthless.  The Bank of England (BOE) is phasing out the existing bank notes in favour of new polymer notes that have better durability and security features.

To avoid losing out you will need to spend these notes or deposit them into a UK bank account before 30 September 2022. Apparently, the value of these notes in issue amounts to approximately £17.5 billion, which would be a nice windfall for the Bank of England if they are not deposited in time.

As an SA resident however, it’s not that simple

According to our foreign exchange expert, the fact that you have these notes on hand is in contravention of exchange controls. The regulations require that you convert any unspent foreign cash back into rands within 30 days of your return. It is perfectly legal to hold foreign currency in an offshore bank account or card, making this regulation seem silly, but there it is.

What are the legal options?

The only legal solution will be to approach your South African bank and ask them if the foreign exchange department can assist you to “regularise” the cash and convert it to rands for you.

By Ian Beere, CFP® CA(SA)