Tesco joins growing list of retailers accepting old pound coin

Tesco has confirmed they will continue to accept the old, round £1 coins even after the Royal Mint's deadline for spending them this Sunday, 15th October. Tesco confirmed on Monday that shoppers will still be able to pay for their shopping with the old coins for at least a week after they officially go out of circulation.

This decision goes against the wishes of the Royal Mint and the Treasury, who are believed to want retailers to all keep with a consistent changeover date to avoid any consumer confusion.

However, a spokesperson for Tesco said: “We’ve been updating our systems ready for the new pound coins, but to help customers who still have the old coins, we’ll continue to accept round pounds at our tills and self-service machines for an additional week.”

Tesco’s decision is in line with a growing number of retailers, including thousands of smaller shops, who will also continue to accept the old £1 coin after the deadline.

The Federation of Small Businesses, which represents around 170,000 small firms across the UK, advised its members to continue to accept the round coins, in order to provide a “useful economic service” to customers. A spokesperson for the FSB said: “Shopkeepers will not want to let their loyal customers down by saying they cannot pay with a round pound if they do not have any change.”

Poundland also said on Monday its stores would accept the £1 coin after Sunday’s deadline, for as long as two weeks - describing their decision as a “no-brainer”.

Source: Insight Team

Image - Courtesy of Shutterstock.

For more interesting news and opinion, sign up for the Insight newsletter today.