Retailers are being encouraged to play their part in the forthcoming withdrawal of old £20 notes.
Notes with a picture of composer Edward Elgar will no longer be legal tender after 30 June. This means that retailers will be under no obligation to accept them - but they will also be expected to help in the withdrawal.
From 1 July, the only £20 notes that are acceptable will be those issued after March 2007, with the face of Scottish economist Adam Smith. The notes also have a different design and silver strip.
Retailers and consumers can currently swap the notes at their bank or building society, and it makes sense to do so as, after June 30, banks will no longer be obliged to accept them. If you still have old £20 notes after this date you can exchange them at the Bank of England headquarters in London.
It is estimated that around 150 million Elgar notes are in circulation, worth a total of £3 billion. These will eventually be taken to the government incinerators and burned.
