You will still be able to spend old round pounds after the deadline. Here’s where …

British households have got rid of £60m-worth of the old “round pound” coins over the past week – but there are still more than £400m-worth still in circulation – and down the backs of sofas – with just this weekend to spend them.

From midnight on Sunday the round pound will no longer be legal tender. Many retailers have made it clear they won’t take them anymore, including Sainsbury’s, M&S and Lidl. But there’s no need to panic as Tesco, Aldi, Iceland and Poundland, plus lots of small retailers, say they will continue accepting them for a short period, while the big banks will let you deposit them into an account for months yet.

The UK’s largest retailer, Tesco, says it will allow shoppers to pay with the coins at tills and self-service machines for an extra week. Aldi and Iceland will take them for two weeks, and Poundland will accept them until 31 October.

However, you are likely to find that the coin will be useless in most coin-operated machines, so that stack in the car won’t help at the station or hospital car park. Already, some supermarket self-checkouts, such as those at Lidl, are no longer taking the old-style coins.

How do you make sure you don’t get short-changed in the great coin changeover? Hopefully, this guide will help.

Can I take them to the bank and change them there – and if so for how long?

Most high-street banks will take old £1 coins as deposits into bank accounts, but they have different policies on how long for and whether they will exchange old coins for new. It is entirely up to individual banks, says the Royal Mint.

“The current round £1 coin can continue to be deposited into a customer’s account, either business or personal, at most high-street banks including RBS, NatWest, Ulster, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Santander, Nationwide, Clydesdale, Yorkshire Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland,” says a spokesperson. “[But] specific arrangements, including timings and deposit amounts, may vary. It is recommended that members of the public consult with their bank directly.”

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Lloyds told Money it has not set a final deadline for accepting the coins, although traders wanting to deposit them must separate them from the new £1 coins. “Lloyds Banking Group [which includes Lloyds, Bank of Scotland and Halifax] has no plans to stop accepting old £1 coins. Customers can either use old £1 coins to deposit into their bank accounts or we can swap them for new ones,” said a bank spokeswoman.

What about the Post Office?

The Post Office will not be exchanging old £1 coins for new ones, but it has an agreement that allows anyone to deposit old coins into their high-street bank account at their local Post Office branch after 15 October until further notice.

It will also be taking part in Pudsey’s Round Pound Countdown for the BBC Children In Need charity ahead of its appeal day on 17 November.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The new 12-sided, bi-metal £1 coin comes with many anti-counterfeiting features. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

Can I give old £1 coins to charity?

Yes, you can continue to donate them to any charity for the foreseeable future, says the Royal Mint. Together with HM Treasury, the Royal Mint has officially partnered with Pudsey’s Round Pound Countdown campaign mentioned above, which aims to collect as many as possible before 17 November to help disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.

What shops will still accept them?

A lot of small shops will continue to accept your old £1 coins. The Federation of Small Businesses, a trade association representing 170,000 small shops, has advised its members to continue taking them after 15 October to provide a “useful community service” to customers.

“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 other change,” said a federation spokesperson.

Poundland managing director Barry Williams has said that the move to accept old pounds for a few weeks longer was a “no-brainer”.

“Providing an extra convenience for shoppers to lighten their pockets while doing the weekly shop rather than making a separate trip to the bank or Post Office will come as good news,” he said.

Will I still be able to use them in trolleys, slot machines and so on?

Probably not. Vending machines, slot machines, parking meters, toilet turnstiles and supermarket trolleys should all have been adapted by 15 October.

“It is our understanding that the majority of coin machine operators [have made these adaptations] and are ready,” says the Royal Mint, “Industry has had a number of years to prepare for the upgrade. Many businesses have made the preparations to be ready to accept payments using the new £1 coin. However, this is a significant task and not every machine will be ready on the day of introduction.”

Contrary to recent reports, both Tesco and Sainsbury’s say their trolleys will all be updated and ready by Monday.

“We’ve already updated the vast majority of our trolleys and are on track to update the remainder over the coming days [before the deadline],” a Tesco spokesperson said.

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But it appears that machines belonging to some rail companies have not been updated. Companies including Govia Thameslink, which operates Southern, Great Northern, Gatwick Express and Thameslink, said some of their ticket machines would not be ready in time.

Will my £1 trolley fob be useless?

If you have a key ring fob the same size as an old, round £1 coin that fits into supermarket trolleys, then probably so. But you can now buy keyring trolley fobs the same size as the new 12-sided coin to use in future at, for example, Amazon and Ebay.

Why is it being replaced anyway?

The new 12-sided, bi-metal £1 coin came into circulation on 28 March as part of efforts to cut back on counterfeits. The old pound, which has been in circulation since 1983, is one of the most counterfeited coins in the world – one in 30 is a fake says the Mint. The new coin has a raft of security features.

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