Wednesday saw the introduction of King Charles' portrait banknotes into circulation in Britain, almost two years after he succeeded the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The Bank of England will print images of King Charles on the five pound, ten pound, twenty pound, and fifty pound notes that they issue.
According to a report by Reuters, banknotes that include an image of Queen Elizabeth will continue to be circulated in circulation.
"This approach is in line with the Royal Family's guidance to minimize the environmental and financial impact of this change, meaning the public will see King Charles III coins very gradually," according to an announcement from the Bank of England.
With the exception of banknotes in England, which have included images of the kings and queens of England for more than a thousand years, Queen Elizabeth was the first person to appear on British banknotes.
In December of 2022, the design of the new banknotes was made public, which was not long after coins depicting King Charles were introduced into circulation. One thing that has not altered is the design of the banknotes, in contrast to the new king.
As a result of consumers' preference for debit cards and other forms of electronic payment systems, the use of cash has experienced a significant fall in the United Kingdom over the past few years.
According to the British Retail Consortium, cash accounted for more than half of all in-store purchases in 2014. However, by 2021, cash transactions had dropped to 15%, in part because of limits imposed by Covid-19. However, by 2022, cash transactions had increased to 19%.
Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, made the following statement on Wednesday: "We are committed to providing banknotes for as long as the public remains interested in receiving them." This devotion is demonstrated by the fact that these new notes are being printed and distributed.
The British government passed a law in the previous year that mandated financial institutions to make sure that cash is easily accessible.
