fullprof

I have several pound notes purchased in Northern Ireland, that I understand are not readily accepted in Britain. Will most banks exchange these without a fee?

Alec

In the rest of UK, yes, unless they are obsolete notes. In that case the only place may be a regional office of the Bank of England in large cities.

SiobhanP

It's legal tender you can use anywhere in the UK.

PatrickLondon

But it's often not worth the argument. Some places are more likely to be familiar with them than others - for what it's worth I never had any trouble after I came back from N Ireland with some, but it's probably better to try spending them in an airport or somewhere where they might have seen them before. Or just go to a bank.

melr

Yes, NI notes (bills) are legal tender but I've often seen notes posted in England & Wales saying that Scottish & NI notes are not accepted. The reason? Easier to forge those notes apparently.

AAFrequentFlyer

I paid a street vendor in London with NI pounds. At first he questioned it, thinking it was Rep. of Ireland money, but after he looked at it closely he had no problem accepting it. That said, it would probably be easier just to exchange them at any major bank.

Ann41

Most places will not take them. But any bank and most currency exchange places will give you English notes without any charge.

And yes, they are legal tender, and if you want to press the point with a retailer, you can call a police officer over to force the issue, but it's usually easier just to go to the bank. I've had a much easier time using NI notes in Scotland.

Another note: if you bring the NI notes home and exchange them to dollars, you get a lower rate than you would with English notes. The banks say it's because they have much less volume with the NI notes.

All the same country, right?

Hiroshi

I recently got a 50p coin from the Isle of Man. Some cheated me. It took a while before I cheated a cashier into accepting it.