Number of paper Bank of England £5, £10, £20 and £50 banknotes returned or still in circulation as at 25 February 2022

Freedom of Information rules mean that, as a public authority, the Bank of England is obliged to disclose certain types of information, both proactively and on request

Date: 16 March 2022

Disclosure:

The table below provides the number of Bank of England (the ‘Bank’) paper £5, £10, £20 and £50 banknotes which have been returned and are still in circulation as at 25 February 2022:

Number of banknotes returned (millions)

Number of banknotes in circulation (millions)

Value of returned banknotes (£millions)

Value of banknotes in circulation (£millions)

£5 paper banknotes returned since 13 September 2016*

229

113

1,147

566

£10 paper banknotes returned since 14 September 2017*

718

73

7,184

726

£20 paper banknotes returned since 20 February 2020*

1,483

360

29,667

7,192

£50 paper banknotes returned since 23 June 2021*

137

209

6,869

10,460

Total

2,569

755

44,867

18,943

* Date the polymer banknote was issued

The paper £20F series and the paper £50F series will no longer be legal tender after 30 September 2022.

All genuine Bank of England banknotes that have been withdrawn from circulation retain their face value for all time. There is no expiry on the period in which we will exchange old banknotes. Details on how to exchange banknotes.