Shops to start turning away £19billion worth of £20 and £50 notes this year

Shops will stop accepting £19billion worth of £20 and £50 notes later this year.

Paper notes have been gradually frozen out and replaced with plastic ones in a bid to improve security over the last two years.

The deadline for use of the old bills is September 30, when they will no longer be counted as legal tender.

There are still up to £19bn worth of old notes in circulation across Britain, down from the reported £24bn paper notes in circulation back in September last year.

Paper £20 notes will no longer be accepted in shops from September 30
John Stillwell

Old £5 and £10 notes were discontinued more than four years ago
Dominic Lipinski

The Bank of England say the notes will retain their face value, while adding people can post them to the bank in Threadneedle Street, with the money then paid into a bank account, by cheque or, "if you live in the UK and your exchange is worth less than £50", swapped for new polymer ones.

The news £20 bill includes a graphic of British landscapes painter JMW Turner.

Meanwhile, the £50 note features an image of Alan Turing, the cryptographer at Bletchley Park who played a major role in helping the Allies win World War 2.

The move comes after paper £5 and £10 notes were replaced more than four years ago for plastic ones.

The Bank of England still allows people to exchange in £5 and £10 notes at face value.