Over the past few weeks KSV Vending have been working hard to update the coin mechanisms on our customers vending equipment ready to accept the new 12 sided pound coin entering circulation today (Tuesday 28th March 2017).
Around 1.5 billion of the coins have been produced in advance of today’s lainch and distributed to secret nationwide locations to ensure an orderly introduction is achieved. However for now the advice is to keep booth old and new coins available as around one in ten parking metres will not accept the new coin and some older ones never will as the coin validators cannot be adjusted to suit. Some Councils are facing great expense replacing whole meters but in the meantime, at least until the 15th October this year when the old coins cease to be legal tender, some of both with you is the best bet.
News too that not all supermarkets are up to speed despite the long notice period of the coinage change and around 200 Tesco stores still have old pound coin locks on their trolley’s with plans to make them “free vend” until new mechanisms can be fitted or the trolleys finally replaced. Maybe 12 sided trolley tokens will be produced to replace the millions of current round tokens many of us have attached to our key rings.
However long it takes to smooth all this out the old pound coins will not be legal tender after 15th October and unlike bank notes will not be accepted for exchange after this date. Dig around the glove box and ashtray in your car, check down the back of the sofa and empty those piggy banks in good time, or you may be faced with finding an old style parking meter to get rid of them in!!
Written by: Colin from KSV.