Southern rail has been struck by delays again, but this time it is in adapting to the new pound coin. An unknown number of the operator’s ticket machines will not be ready to accept the new coin on Monday when the old round pound is phased out.
About 400m round pounds were thought to remain in circulation over the weekend after 60m were spent in the preceding week.
Poundland said it had seen a “noticeable lift” in the amount shoppers were spending in its stores on Saturday as Britons dug out old coins from the back of the sofa, coat pockets and handbags before the switchover.
The retailer is among a handful of major chains which plan to continue to accept the old coins beyond midnight on Sunday, when it will cease to be legal tender.
Round pounds might, however, come in handy in paying for train tickets and feeding parking meters and vending machines.
Govia Thameslink, which operates the Southern, Great Northern and Thameslink franchise, admitted that an unknown number of its ticket machines would not be ready to accept the new coins.
It said 99% of its stations would have at least one machine that took the 12-sided pound but four Southern stations would not have any machines capable of doing so until Friday.
Some local authorities are also struggling to switch over their parking meters. Hammersmith and Fulham said all of its “city centre” meters now accepted the new pound or cashless payment but those in some residential areas would continue to require the old coins while new cashless machines are introduced over the next few weeks.
Glasgow and Greenwich, neither of which had fully installed machines capable of using the new pound when it came into circulation in March, both said all their machines had now been adapted. Glasgow residents, however, were complaining about being unable to use new pounds in its machines only last week.
A spokesman for Glasgow council said: “Converting or replacing parking meters to accept new coins is a major challenge, particularly when businesses and authorities across the country are working with the same suppliers in a relatively short period of time.
“We initially concentrated on switching meters in our busiest streets and neighbourhoods, and also have in place fully cashless parking payments, so motorists never have to rely on having the right change.”
Luke Bosdet, a spokesman for the AA, said that areas where parking machines had not been adapted to the new pound in time should offer free parking.
“Why should drivers have to find old pound coins when it’s the council or their contractor which has failed to do their job properly?” he said.
Iceland and Aldi have said they will continue to accept round pounds for another fortnight, and Tesco has said it will do so for a week after Monday’s deadline.
Sainsbury’s has said it would not accept the old coins at its tills after Sunday, but that shoppers would be able to donate them to this year’s poppy appeal until 12 November.
Contrary to recent reports, both Tesco and Sainsbury’s said all their trolleys had been updated in time for Monday’s switchover.
Most banks, including RBS, NatWest, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, Santander and Nationwide, will also continue to take old pounds as deposits into savings accounts, but they have different policies on how long for and whether they will exchange old coins for new ones. It will also be possible to deposit them into bank accounts via the Post Office.
The new 12-sided, bi-metallic £1 coin came into circulation on 28 March as part of efforts to cut back on counterfeits. The old pound, which has been in circulation since 1983, is one of the most counterfeited coins in the world. One in 30 are fake, according to the Royal Mint.
The new coin has a number of hi-tech security features, including a panel similar to a hologram that changes when the coin is seen from different angles.
• This article was amended on 18 October 2017. An earlier version said that Sainsbury’s was still accepting the old pound coins at its tills until Monday. This has been corrected because customers could not spend an old pound coin in their stores after Sunday.
