So far the Royal Mint has repatriated £1 billion old coins and weekly returns have slowed down considerably from 30 million to 15 million with the expectation of a surge closer to the end of October.
The Royal Mint has produced £1.1 million new pound coins up to the end of August 2017 of which most are now in circulation or in cash centres.
Media coverage has concentrated on equipment upgrades which have yet to be done. These are mainly in the council-owned car parking sector.
The Treasury is now focusing on the Great Turn Off – the turning off of acceptance of the old coins. However, as the Automatic Vending Association has told the Treasury, this is a commercial decision on when to do this. It is up to each individual company what method of payments they accept.
What to do next
Contact your bank to make arrangements for banking any old coins you receive after October 15. The cash in transit people have indicated that they will still collect old bulk bagged coins till early next year. After that it is up to you how you get them to the bank. There should be very small amounts coming in by then.
If you have a note reader on your machines you will need to change the coin mechanisms to put the new coin in the cash tubes so after October 25 you will not be giving out old coins as they will not be legal tender.
