When will new King Charles III banknotes be issued?

New banknotes featuring King Charles III are currently being printed to mark his ascension to throne, MailOnline reported.

Charles became King of the United Kingdom following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.

He will be officially crowned as Britain's reigning monarchy at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, 6 May.

When will the new King Charles III banknotes be issued? What do they look like? What should people do with their old banknotes?

MailOnline reveals all you need to know about the upcoming release of the new legal tender.

When will new banknotes come out?

The new banknotes featuring a portrait of King Charles III will not be released straight after his coronation.

They are currently scheduled to enter public circulation in mid-2024. This is because machines, including self-service tills, will need to recognise the new image so that cash transactions can be successfully completed.

The reverse side of current polymer Bank of England banknotes, which feature significant figures in British history such as Sir Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, JMW Turner and Alan Turing, will be unchanged.

What do new bank notes look like?

Images of the new banknotes depict Charles on the right hand side of notes, along with an inset image of him on the left hand side next to historic landmarks including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Nelson's Column.

The denomination of notes will remain the same, with £5, £10, £20 and £50 all available to use.

What do I do with old bank notes?

Since the new banknotes featuring King Charles will not come into circulation until the middle of 2024, people should continue using their old banknotes as normal.

There are currently 4.7 billion Queen Elizabeth notes in circulation, worth a whopping £82billion can still be used when paying for anything with cash.

The King Charles notes will only replace existing ones when they are no longer fit for use, or if there is an increased demand for them upon release.

Is cash still king?

Cash transactions have declined enormously during and after the pandemic. In 2021, just one in six payments were made using cash and coins.

'There is a lot to do to ensure that machines used up and down the country can accept the banknotes', said Sarah John, whose role at the Bank of England means her signature appears on the new banknotes, according to BBC News.

'They all need to be adapted to recognise the new design, with software updates, and that takes months and months.

'Otherwise, we will be putting a banknote out there that people simply would not be able to use', she continued.

'There are still a lot of people who rely on cash for their day-to-day spending. It might not be obvious to everyone, but it is still really important that they have cash available when they really need it.'