At the request of the environmentally minded monarch, the new £5, £10, £20 and £50 editions will mostly be printed to replace worn or damaged notes.
The new designs – released in December 2022 – will also be issued to satisfy an overall increase in demand for cash that follows.
With this in mind, shoppers and businesses will only see the banknotes circulate “very gradually”, according to the Bank of England.
This guidance from the Royal Household is to lessen the impact of the change on the environment and financially.
While the front of the tender will look different, the back will still carry the images of Winston Churchill, Jane Austen, JMW Turner and Alan Turing.
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Those iconic figures will continue to appear on the £5, £10, £20 and £50 polymer notes respectively.
What do I do with older banknotes?
If you have older banknotes that contain the image of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, you can still use them, as they will be in circulation alongside the new notes.
Alternatively, a banknote exchange will be available from today (5 June) if you want to swap up to £300 worth of old notes with the updated King Charles versions.
This is available by post between 5 and 30 June 2024 and in person at the Bank of England counter on Threadneedle Street between 5 and 11 June 2024.
As well as the exchange service, a charity auction will take place for low-serial-numbered notes at Spink & Son. Those notes are usually very popular among collectors, and you can enter by entering a ballot to purchase a set of notes.
Meanwhile, Andrew Bailey, the Bank of England’s governor, said: “We’re very pleased to be issuing the new King Charles banknotes. This is a historic moment, as it’s the first time we’ve changed the sovereign on our notes.
“We know that cash is important for many people, and we are committed to providing banknotes for as long as the public demand them. Bringing these new notes into circulation is a demonstration of that commitment.”
