Bank of England says counterfeit notes rose by over 100% in 2025 but still 'only fraction' of circulation

The number of counterfeit banknotes detected in the UK more than doubled in 2025, rising from 99,000 in 2024 to 200,000, although the Bank of England says they still represent only a tiny fraction of notes in circulation as part of its national Anticounterfeit campaign.

Despite the year-on-year increase of more than 100%, counterfeit notes accounted for only a tiny fraction of one per cent of all banknotes in circulation, while 2024 recorded the lowest number of counterfeits detected in more than 30 years.

The reforms include an expansion of the Growth Guarantee Scheme, which provides a government guarantee on commercial loans to small and medium sized businesses, alongside £500 million of funding through the ENABLE Guarantee programme to support innovative firms. The changes are expected to help thousands more small businesses access the finance they need to grow.

The Bank has launched a nationwide awareness campaign to help businesses reduce the financial and reputational damage counterfeit notes can cause by promoting simple, practical steps for checking banknotes.

As part of the campaign, the Bank has developed a partner toolkit containing ready-to-use communications materials that can be shared with members, stakeholders and business communities.

The campaign encourages businesses to adopt the Bank of England's two quick checks when accepting cash and embed routine banknote checking into day-to-day processes, while also joining the Banknote Checking Scheme to access free training materials, guidance, alerts and updates.

The Bank says these measures can help businesses identify counterfeit notes with confidence and reduce the risk of financial loss.

The toolkit includes social media content in static and video formats, newsletter and email graphics and copy, website articles and web graphics, print and digital advertising materials, educational content promoting the Two Quick Checks, campaign videos and business case studies.

It also includes A4 banknote-checking posters in English, Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Spanish, Urdu and Welsh.

The posters can be displayed in staff areas, used during onboarding or incorporated into refresher training, making them particularly useful for businesses with diverse workforces.

Further case studies from a range of sectors will be added to the campaign materials in the coming weeks to show how businesses are using the Bank's guidance in practice.

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