British supermarket chain Iceland will continue to accept old 'round pound' coins in all of its Iceland and The Food Warehouse stores in the UK until 31 December, extending its original deadline from 31 October.
Tarsem Dhaliwal, Iceland Group managing director, said the statistics reveal that many people still have old pound coins stashed away.
“We are happy to save them the trouble of changing these old coins at a bank by allowing them to spend round pounds in our stores until the end of the year,” said Dhaliwal.
The new 12-sided £1 coin was introduced in the UK on 28 March. From 15 October 2017 onwards, the round coin ceased to be legal tender, so businesses aren't legally obliged to accept it. The old coin was introduced in 1983 to replace the £1 note.
Iceland, known primarily for its frozen food range, says that it hopes to encourage customers to spend their leftover stashes of the round pound at its 890 stores in the UK.
Bonus Card Savings
Dhaliwal added that customers can save the money on their Iceland Bonus Card and that Iceland will add £1 for every £20 they save.
“So if you find a hoard of old pound coins down the sofa or in a piggy bank before the end of 2017 you know what to do – come and spend them in Iceland,” he said.
Iceland stores offer a range of products for the price of £1 including deep pan pizzas, ready meals, frozen vegetables, groceries and fresh produce.
Several other UK retailers such as Poundland and Tesco continued to accept the old pound until the end of October, despite it ceasing to be legal tender. A number of major UK banks and charities will still accept the old currency for the near future.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Kevin Duggan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
