Aldi has announced it would be the latest retailer to continue accepting round £1 coins two weeks after the official deadline.
The discount retailer has joined the ranks of Tesco, Poundland and 170,000 small retailers around the UK in extending its deadline past October 15 when the old pound coins cease to be legal tender.
Roughly 500 million round pound coins are thought to still be in circulation in the UK, but as of midnight on Sunday businesses can stop accepting them.
The Royal Mint’s deadline was intended to prevent confusion and the Treasury was reportedly hoping for a clean break from the former currency.
However, retailers have said the six months since the new 12-sided £1 coin was introduced has not been long enough to make the transition.
Prior to the introduction of the coin, which includes new high-tech security features to prevent counterfeiting, one in 30 round pound coins were found to be fake.
“We‘ve been ready to accept the new £1 coins since they first came into circulation in March,” Aldi told The Guardian.
“To make the transition as easy as possible for our customers, we will continue to accept the old £1 coins as payment across our stores until 31 October.”
While shops will no longer be allowed to hand out round £1 coins as change from Sunday onwards, they also have the right to refuse them as payment.
However, there are no rules stopping shops from accepting the old coins if they want to.
