Yes, a shop can refuse a £50 note, as "legal tender" only applies to settling debts, not everyday purchases; businesses can set their own payment policies, often rejecting large notes for small items to manage cash flow or prevent counterfeits, and can refuse any payment before a transaction begins.
Many self-service checkouts do not accept £50 notes due to concerns about counterfeiting and the need for high-value change. However, some newer machines, especially in supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Asda, do accept them, particularly if they have updated banknote validators for polymer notes.
While cash is considered a legal tender, businesses have no legal obligation to accept it and have the right to set their own payment policies. This means that a brick-and-mortar store can refuse cash, just as they can reject other forms of payment, such as certain credit card payments or cheques.
This note replaces our paper £50 note which was withdrawn from circulation after 30 September 2022. You may be able to deposit withdrawn notes at your own bank or with the Post Office. Alternatively, you can exchange withdrawn banknotes with selected Post Office branches or with the Bank of England.
If you want to pay for a pack of chewing gum with a £50 note, it is perfectly legal to turn you down. Likewise for all other banknotes, it is a matter of discretion. If your nearest corner shop decided to only accept payments in Pokémon cards, they would be within their rights to do so.
Tesco caused uproar among shoppers this week when it confirmed it would ban cash payments at some of its cafes. The card-only policy will be rolled out to 40 in-store eateries. The supermarket has reportedly taken the decision after a new electronic ordering system helped to significantly cut down queues.
The fifty pound coin (£50) is a commemorative denomination of sterling coinage. Issued for the first time by the Royal Mint in 2015 and sold at face value, fifty pound coins hold legal tender status but are intended as collector's items and are not found in general circulation.
The short answer is no—cash-in-hand payments are not illegal. However, things can get complicated if the right legal procedures aren't followed. While paying employees in cash may seem easy, employers and employees must ensure compliance with tax and employment laws.
It is not illegal to keep cash at home in the UK, but it should be stored securely to mitigate risks. The amount of cash to have on hand varies, but a small amount for emergencies is recommended while keeping most in a secure bank account.
False. The British government has not announced rules that ban cash payments above 10,000 pounds or that require identity checks for payments above 6,300 pounds from 2027. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
The Bank of England £100,000,000 note, also referred to as Titan, is a non-circulating Bank of England sterling banknote used to back the value of Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes. It is the highest denomination of banknote printed by the Bank of England.
💷 There's only a few days left to either spend or swap old paper £20 and £50 notes, as they will no longer be legal tender in after the end of this month. After 30 September, you won't be able to spend these notes in shops, or use them to pay businesses.
Yes, £50 notes are still in circulation, but the older paper version was withdrawn as legal tender in September 2022, replaced by the new polymer note featuring King Charles III and Alan Turing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of England_%C2%A350_note, which is the standard circulating note now. You can still deposit or exchange old paper £50s at banks or the Post Office, and the Bank of England will always exchange them.
Is it legal to refuse cash? In the UK it is not illegal for businesses to refuse cash as payment and, in the same breath, it's not illegal for them to refuse card payments, either. The only situation where this isn't the case is when a business is accepting payment for a debt.
This is a common confusion because of a mis-undertanding over what 'legal tender' means. Legal tender simply means what can't be refused as payment in a court ordered debt. It doesn't impact day- to-day life. There are no rules on what payments type firms have to accept as long as they are not discriminating.
Not yet. However, a 2024 report from the International Monetary Fund suggests that we might not be too far away from seeing the first. It suggested that Sweden would be the first completely cashless economy as soon as the end of 2025. This is unlikely to happen now, though.
Zimbabwe 100 Trillion Dollar Note: A symbol of hyperinflation, rare due to its astronomical face value. 1891 U.S. Red Seal $1,000 Bill: Known for its unique design and limited circulation.
A fifty-dollar note is also known colloquially as a "pineapple" or the "Big Pineapple" because of its yellow colour. The $100 note is currently green and is known colloquially as a “watermelon”, but between 1984 and 1996 it was grey, and was called a grey nurse (a type of shark).
