Time running out for old ten-pound notes

THE old £10 note must be spent by March next year after the Bank of England revealed the date when it will cease to be legal tender.

A use-by date of March 1, 2018, has been slapped on £10 paper notes following the introduction of the plastic tenner on September 14. However, old notes can still be spent ahead of the cut-off date or exchanged at the Bank once this point has passed.

The Bank introduced the paper £10 note featuring naturalist Charles Darwin on November 7, 2000. Around 55% of the £10 notes in circulation are made from polymer, while 359 million are paper.

The new £10 banknote, featuring a picture of author Jane Austen, is the first Bank of England note with a tactile feature to help blind and partially-sighted users. Like the £5 note already in circulation featuring Sir Winston Churchill, the new £10 banknote is made from polymer, which is more durable and expected to last five years in total.

The transition to polymer has sparked controversy after the Bank confirmed that an “extremely small amount” of tallow – or animal fat – was used to produce polymer pellets, which were part of the production process.

People who still have paper £5 notes can exchange them at the Bank of England in person or by completing a form and sending the note to Department NEX, Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8AH.