Thousands of Royal Mail stamps are set to be unusable within months as a new system is introduced, with some left set to be thousands out of pocket.

Customers have been warned that their ‘1st’ and 2nd’ class stamps will be unusable from January 2023 as Royal Mail begin rolling out a new barcode system to replace the traditional stamp system.

Royal Mail will introduce new "reinvented" stamps after a successful trial of the new designs. 

A special barcode will be added to the side of the stamp. Royal Mail initially said  the Queen's head will still remain a main part of the stamp although whether this is still the case remains unclear following Her Majesty's death, aged 96 last week.

The barcode will make it possible to watch videos, messages, and much more information all available on the Royal Mail App. 

The current non-barcoded stamps will be phased out but will be usable until January 31 2023.

Royal Mail says the barcode will also help to introduce "added security features" and "pave the way for innovative services for our customers".

Royal Mail announce swap system as stamps phased out

To help with the change, Royal Mail is offering a swap system.

The “Swap Out” scheme will be running from 31 March 2022 to 31 March 2023.

To “Swap Out” simply fill in a form from on the Royal Mail website. The page is not yet live however Royal Mail has moved to assure people that it will be soon.

Money Saving Expert founder Martin Lewis has long suggested people stock up on stamps to beat the annual price increases.

One MoneySaver told the website: "Older people, like my late dad, are used to getting stamps by the booklet and keeping them in drawers, and will just not realise they can't be used from next January." 

Special commemorative stamps are unaffected by the change.