The Bank of England is the United Kingdom’s central bank, and it has no retail customers. It holds no personal accounts, issues no cards, and lends to no individuals in any country. Its one public-facing service is exchanging withdrawn banknotes.
The Bank publishes its own scam warning, and it is unusually direct. It states that it will never contact you about investments, refunds, fines or opportunities, never ask for bank details, identity documents or payments except when you are exchanging banknotes with it, and that neither the Bank nor its staff endorse or advertise financial products. Videos and social media adverts appearing to show senior Bank figures endorsing an investment are not genuine.
If you are in South Africa and something claiming to be the Bank of England has contacted you, it is a fraud. Report it to your own bank immediately if you paid or shared details, and to the South African Police Service.
This page covers how to contact the Bank of England in the United Kingdom. The details below were taken from the official Bank of England contact page rather than from any third-party directory.
ContactDetails.co.za is an independent directory. We are not the Bank of England and cannot act on your behalf. Everything on this page is a routing aid so you reach the right official channel quickly.
The Bank of England contact numbers
These routes were verified against the official Bank of England contact page on 22 August 2026. Contact numbers do change, so confirm on the official page before relying on one for anything urgent.
| What it is for | Contact |
|---|---|
| General enquiries | +44 20 3461 4878 |
| General enquiries email | [email protected] |
| Exchanging withdrawn banknotes | +44 20 3461 5994 |
| Banknote exchange email | [email protected] |
| Media enquiries | [email protected] |
General enquiries are answered Monday to Friday. The postal address is Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8AH, United Kingdom.
The Bank of England is the United Kingdom’s central bank, and it has no retail customers at all. It does not hold personal accounts, issue cards or lend to individuals anywhere, and it has no South African operation. If a message, caller or website claims to be the Bank of England contacting you about money, an inheritance, a transfer or an account, it is fraudulent. Central bank names are used in advance-fee frauds precisely because they sound authoritative.
Self-service options before you call
- Check the official site at bankofengland.co.uk, which carries the current contact details and any online enquiry form.
- Email to [email protected], which gives you a written record of what you asked and when.
- Calling outside peak times. Monday mornings and the hour after 17:00 are usually the worst for contact centres.
What to have ready before you call
- A clear one line summary of what you need resolved.
- Your account, order or reference number if you already have one.
- The identity document or account holder details, since most providers verify who you are before discussing an account.
- Dates, amounts and any error message exactly as it appeared.
- A pen and paper for the reference number. Ask for one every time, because without it a follow up call starts from nothing.
Complaints and escalation
If a first call does not resolve the matter, escalate through its published enquiries route. There is no consumer complaint process, because the Bank has no personal customers. If someone has contacted you claiming to be from the Bank, that is a fraud matter rather than a complaint: in South Africa report it to your own bank and to the South African Police Service, and in the United Kingdom report it to Action Fraud.
Keep a short written log of each contact: the date, the channel you used, the name of the agent and the reference number. Most central banking complaint processes ask for exactly that history, and having it ready is usually the difference between a fast resolution and starting over.
Avoiding fake Bank of England contact numbers
Contact details for well known organisations are a common target for impersonation, and an organisation searched from South Africa but based elsewhere is an easy target because few readers know what its real number looks like. Numbers that look official appear in search ads, social media replies and cloned websites, and the person answering is not the Bank of England.
- Reach Bank of England through the official site at bankofengland.co.uk rather than through a number in a search advert or a social media reply.
- The Bank of England will never ask you for your full card number, PIN, CVV, online banking password or a one time PIN. Nobody legitimate needs those to help you.
- Treat any caller who creates urgency, asks you to install remote access software, or asks you to move money to a safe account as fraudulent, and end the call.
- If you are unsure whether a call was genuine, hang up and dial the official number yourself rather than calling back a number the caller gave you.
Related contact pages
Frequently asked questions
What is the Bank of England contact number?
The routes are listed in the table above, with what each one is for. The main route is +44 20 3461 4878. Confirm it on bankofengland.co.uk before relying on it, since numbers are changed from time to time.
How do I know a Bank of England number is genuine?
Check it against the official site at bankofengland.co.uk. A number that only appears in a search advert, a social media reply or a third-party directory should not be trusted for anything involving your account, your money or your identity document.
What should I do if nobody resolves my query?
Ask for the complaint reference and the escalation path on your first call, then follow the escalation route described above. Keep the dates, agent names and reference numbers, because every formal complaint process will ask for them.
Can ContactDetails.co.za resolve this for me?
No. We are an independent directory, not the Bank of England, and we have no access to your account. Everything here is a routing aid so that you reach the correct official channel with the right information in hand.
Is there a cost to calling these numbers?
Calling the United Kingdom from South Africa is an international call, billed at your operator’s international rate, and the + prefix must be dialled rather than a local 0. Consider the email or online route instead.
Contact routes on this page were checked against the official Bank of England source on 22 August 2026. If you find a detail that has changed, the official source is always the authority.