Have you got a plan for the new £1 coin?

The new 12-sided £1 coin will finally be here on the 28th of March. Have you got a plan for your pay and display machines? It’s the first time the pound coin has been changed in more than 30 years.

If you haven’t thought about this yet then you need a plan in place to ensure you don’t lose out on revenue.

We can help you by either putting you in contact with the relevant company to upgrade the machine software or we can help you with installation of a new machine (some machines can’t be upgraded so a replacement is the only choice).

The old coin became a problem as they were easily illegally copied which meant that lots of worthless pound coins have been in circulation. The new coin was announced in 2014 and the Royal Mint, who create the coins, said that this one will be “the most secure coin in the world” making the pound coins harder to illegally copy.

Why are they so secure?

The new coins look a lot different to the old ones but that’s not the best bit. It has a picture like a hologram that changes from a ‘£’ symbol to the number ‘1’ when the coin is seen from different angles with all sorts of added extras to the way the coin looks.

There is even a hidden high security feature built into the coin to protect it from being illegally copied but the details haven’t been made public.

What do you do with your old coins?

You will still be able to use the round £1 coin until 15th October, after that date they then become worthless. People will have to swop their old coins for new ones at the bank, so get those coins out of your piggy banks. It’s thought that around a third of the £1.3 billion worth of coins stored in piggy banks or saving jars around the UK are the current £1 style. Some of the coins that are returned by the public will be melted down and used to make the new 12-sided version.

If you are unsure about anything please contact us via our contact page.