UK households sitting on £9bn fortune and they don’t even know it – how to claim

Personal finance expert and founder of HyperJar, Mat Megens, urged Britons to check their old banknotes and coins as swapping them for new ones could give their bank accounts a boost ahead of the summer holidays.

Old paper £20 and £50 notes are no longer legal tender since September 2022 meaning people can not use them in shops anymore.

However, they can be exchanged at the bank or the Post Office, but Britons should note that Post Offices will only exchange a maximum of £300.

The Bank of England explained: “People can still deposit or exchange their old currency at their local branch and in some Post Offices.”

Britons can exchange paper Bank of England banknotes “from the last series that have been withdrawn from circulation” at participating Post Office branches.

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The BoE added: “There is no need to worry as withdrawn notes can always be exchanged at the Bank of England for new notes and there is no deadline.”

Research from UK Finance showed that cash accounted for 15 percent of all payments last year.

The personal finance expert commented: “It feels incredible that, in the middle of a major financial squeeze, almost £9billion worth of old banknotes and coins are stashed away at the back of kitchen drawers.

“That’s over £130 on average for every one of the 67 million people in UK and it shows how ‘out of sight, out of mind’ cash has become to many of us.

“It used to be the easiest way to budget and manage spending, but digital now dominates. It’s why I based the app on jam-jar budgeting — because it’s the closest thing to that physical relationship with cash you can get.”

He continued: “If you do have any old paper notes or ’round pounds’ at home, dig them out now for a quick way to boost your summer spending power.

“Check bank, Post Office or the Bank of England websites for where you can deposit or exchange them for legal tender.

“You could end up with a decent amount to stick in an emergency fund or towards a family day out.”