Aldi is going to accept the old £1 coin until the end of the month as it shuns the Royal Mint’s withdrawal deadline
YOU'LL be able to spend your round pounds at Aldi until the end of the month, despite the old £1 being formally withdrawn from circulation on Sunday.
The German discount retailer has decided to ignore the Royal Mint's deadline despite having six months to prepare for the changeover.
The round pound is being replaced by a new 12-sided £1 coin, which entered circulation earlier this year.
Nearly £1 in £8 of supermarket spending is at Aldi and its rival Lidl.
An Aldi spokesperson said: “We’ve been ready to accept the new £1 coins since they first came into circulation in March.
"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 the 31st of October.”
The announcement comes as another blow to the Royal Mint and Treasury which has worked with businesses to agree a cut-off date from October 15.
Shops are able to continue to flout the deadline as they can still deposit old coins at the bank once the deadline has passed.
How to exchange your old £1 coins after the October 15 deadline
If you do still find one of the old coins down the back of the sofa, you can still deposit it at most high street banks and the Post Office.
But you'll need to have an account with the bank to put it into.
You'll be able to exchange them for a note if they're in bags of £20. If not, then you can still cash them into your bank account and withdraw them in note form later.
You are still able to donate the old coins to charity. The BBC Children In Need is running a Pudsey's Round Pound Countdown, encouraging people to give their money to the charity.
Here are some other inspirational charities who are accepting your old £1 coin donations.
Thousands of retailers - including, Tesco and Poundland - have now said they will accept the coin after Sunday, which could cause confusion for shoppers.
The Federation of Small Businesses - which represents about 170,000 small shops - has advised its members to continue accepting the old coins, to provide a “useful community service” to shoppers.
LOVE ME TENDER The rarest and most valuable old £1 coins
Yesterday, Greggs told The Sun that it will accept the coin past Sunday - and it doesn't have a date for when it will stop accepting them.
Earlier this week, Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket, announced that it will stop giving out the coin as change at checkouts and self-service tills.
It plans to accept the coin for an extra week.
Barry Williams, the discount store's boss, described the move "as a no-brainer".
The Sun Online previously reported that a raft of machines will still not be ready to accept the new coins in time for the deadline.
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