Get ready for new 12-sided £1 in March 2017

Businesses have been urged to get ready for the introduction of the new 12-sided pound coin after claims it could cause retail chaos.

The Royal Mint has launched a website calling for retailers to adapt their equipment and make sure that their staff are trained to handle the arrival of the newly shaped £1 in March 2017.

The 12-sided coin has been created in a bid to halt the current trade in counterfeit pound coins, that has seen around one in 30 found to be false. The new coins are said be much harder to replicate.

All machines that accept cash will need to be adapted to accept the new currency and the Royal Mint’s website has said that businesses will need to contact their suppliers to make sure they will not be required to make changes.

In the run up to the coin’s introduction in March, the Royal Mint has advised that vendors’ machines are capable of accepting both the old and new pound coins.

The website also says that business should ‘train your staff on the features of the new £1 coin’.

According to the Royal Mint, the new coin will weigh 8.75g, 0.25g lighter than the current £1 and will feature the fifth coin portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the ‘heads’ side.

The design on the ‘tails’ side of the coin will show ‘the English rose, Welsh leek, Scottish thistle and Northern Irish shamrock emerging from one stem within a royal coronet’, designed by a 15-year-old, David Pearce.

David Gauke, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said: ‘The new £1 coin will be the most secure of its kind in the world and its cutting-edge features will present a significant barrier to counterfeiters, reducing the cost to businesses and the taxpayer.’

During the ‘co-circulation’ period the website suggests firms should accept both coins and keep customers informed which coins their equipment can accept.

Businesses may need to agree with their bank or cash in transit provider how to return the current £1 coin and new £1 coin.