Warning to use old-style stamps before they become worthless

People are being warned to use up old-style stamps before a new system makes them worthless. Royal Mail is overhauling stamps in the coming months with a new barcode.

The idea is that it will make sending letters easier and more secure. However, existing stamps without barcodes featuring an image of the Queen’s head will not be valid after January 31, 2023.

Only the new style, complete with the new barcodes, will be usable. Trying to use anything else will result in a surcharge, reports BirminghamLive.

The new stamps were revealed earlier this year by Royal Mail. They’re a different colour to the current ones, as the picture below shows.

It’s an attempt to make letter sending more secure, but it doesn’t make post any easier or cheaper for customers to track. The barcodes will soon become commonplace on all standard and Christmas stamps, with each one having a “digital twin” that contains a unique code alongside it.