Tesco joins Poundland to flout old £1 coin deadline

The grocery giant made a u-turn on its original decision to adhere to the deadline set by the Royal Mint, which will see the old £1 stop being accepted as legal tender this weekend.

The supermarket chain will continue to accept the coins as a valid form of payment across their tills and self-service machines for another week following the October 15 deadline.

A spokesman for the Tesco told The Daily Telegraph that the last-minute decision was made “to do the right thing by its customers”.

“We’ve been updating our systems ready for the new pound coins, but to help customers who still have the old coins, we’ll continue to accept round pounds at our tills and self-service machines for an additional week,” he added.

The supermarket’s 11th-hour decision comes hot on the heels of Poundland, who’s newly appointed managing director Barry Williams said yesterday the discount retailer would accept payment with old £1 coins until the end of the month.

The new 12-sided £1 coin was introduced in March as the Royal Mint hit back at counterfeits.