Question on UK currency (England vs. Scotland)
 

Hello! I am traveling to London and then up to Edinburgh., through the highlands, and on to the western Scottish islands. I read in a guidebook that Scotland may not accept British pounds, especially outside of Edinburgh. Has anyone had experience with that? I will mostly rely on my United credit card, but would also like to get some currency before leaving. I was planning on getting only British pounds, but will see if my bank can accommodate another currency if necessary. Thoughts? Thank you.

"I read in a guidebook that Scotland may not accept British pounds, especially outside of Edinburgh."

Get rid of the handbook as not only are there no such things as "British" pounds, notes issued by the Bank of England are accepted throughout the UK.

Some Scottish banks issue their own banknotes but they are accepted in Scotland and in some places in England & Wales. Northern Ireland banks also issue their own banknotes but they are rarely accepted outside Northern Ireland.

"<I>I read in a guidebook that Scotland may not accept British pounds, especially outside of Edinburgh</i>"

OMG!!!

May I ask which guidebook included that ridiculous bit of wisdom?

(Now, <i>maybe</i> you mis-read something like >>You may have difficulty using Scottish notes in England<< or some such)

well soon Scotland will probably have the euro so then it will be a good question.

Using English notes in Scotland isn't a problem (as PP have said, no such thing as ' British'notes) The reverse situation is where you run into difficulties, as some English cabbies don't accept Scottish notes. But that isn't a problem for you unless you return to London with Scottish money.

So, for more general advice, is it best to trade in Scottish money if you plan to spend more time (or in my case live) in England?

If you are in England after visiting Scotland (or Northern Ireland) go into a bank & they will swap them for Bank of England notes for you.
As previously said, some places will accept them, but not all, especially as they are not familiar with them to know if they are genuine, nor will any of their customers accept them in change, so they are stuck with them until they can get to the bank to deposit or exchange them.

There is however a British pound, correct - and assuming both Scottish notes and English notes are really British pound notes?

The ONLY money issue is related to using Scottish bank-issued notes in SOME places in England. This is merely because some small shop owners don't recognise them and don't know how to check if they are forgeries or not. If you ever find yourself in England with a wallet full of Scottish notes, you could always just walk into a bank and ask them to swap them.

The currency is the same (Pounds Sterling) but the issuing banks, and therefore the design of the notes, are different. In England and Wales all notes are issued by the Bank of England. In Scotland, notes are issued by a few different banks, so there's all sorts of designs floating about.

Coins, on the other hand, are the same throughout the land.

I found this advice on the Scottish Clearing Bank Committee website:
"The majority of banknotes circulating in Scotland are issued by Scottish banks. Scottish notes circulate and are accepted quite freely in Scotland and, for the most part, they are also readily accepted in England & Wales, although branches of Scottish banks there may not issue them. However, you should not rely absolutely on Scottish notes being accepted outside Scotland and this is particularly true when travelling abroad. Our general advice would be not to carry large amounts of banknotes of any description and to make use of facilities such as travellers’ cheques, credit/debit cards and ATM cards for access to funds whilst abroad."

As ever, Google is your friend.

Taken from the Bank of england website FAQs:

Are Scottish & Northern Irish notes legal tender?
In short ‘No’ these notes are not legal tender; only Bank of England notes are legal tender but only in England and Wales.
The term legal tender does not in itself govern the acceptability of banknotes in transactions. Whether or not notes have legal tender status, their acceptability as a means of payment is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved. Legal tender has a very narrow technical meaning in relation to the settlement of debt. If a debtor pays in legal tender the exact amount he owes under the terms of a contract, he has good defence in law if he is subsequently sued for non-payment of the debt. In ordinary everyday transactions, the term ‘legal tender’ has very little practical application.

so Scottish and NI notes are NOT legal tender in England and Wales. you will find them accepted in Scotland, but if you are lumbered with a load of scottish notes when you get to england, just go to the nearest bank and they'll change them for you.

>>There is however a British pound, correct - and assuming both Scottish notes and English notes are really British pound notes?<<

It's called 'Pound Sterling', the official currency of the entire United Kingdom.

>>so Scottish and NI notes are NOT legal tender in England and Wales. you will find them accepted in Scotland, but if you are lumbered with a load of scottish notes when you get to england, just go to the nearest bank and they'll change them for you.<<

Interesting quirk – they are not legal tender in Scotland either. Nor are Bank of England notes.

"Legal tender" has a technical meaning: it doesn't define whether or not your money will be accepted, so it's a bit of a red herring.

...so I was having a discussion with some fellow when we were in Scotland and the question came up about whether Scottish bank notes would be accepted in England. My advice was to get rid of the Scottish bank notes and get Bank of England bank notes before leaving Scotland (I do this routinely at the hotel I stay at and they usually oblige if they have any)...but anyway he asked me what if he goes into a restaurant in England, has a meal, and when the bill comes tries to pay with Scottish bank notes? Will he have to give back the food?

" when the bill comes tries to pay with Scottish bank notes? Will he have to give back the food?"

Much the same as if he tried paying with euros (or with a cc somewhere that didn't take ccs). If a restaurant didn't want to accept them, ultimately someone would accompany him to the nearest ATM.

Accepting Scottish notes can involve a higher risk of taking duds. It also increases the retailer's cash handling costs: banks in England levy a higher charge on receipts in Scottish and Northern Irish notes, because they can't be immediately recycled, and in my day weren't eligible to allow overnight lending.

All highly technical, and very rare anywhere foreign tourists are likely to tread. But people running greasy spoons in Leicester suburbs have a range of strategies (not all comfortable) for dealing with "customers" unwilling to pay in real money after consuming their mreal.

The third paragraph above makes a lot of sense!

Really, flanner? Banks charge more for Scottish note handling? I'm gobsmacked by that.

You'd better set Wee Eck and the Boys on to them, sheila.

It may have moved on since I was in the cash handling business, and I honestly can't remember how the Scots/NI banks treated non-local notes. The arguments for Scottish/NI banks charging a premium for English notes are likely to be slightly different,because:
- Scottish customers are happier (or at any rate, quieter) about accepting English notes
- The highly technical stuff about the temporary demonetisation of Bank of England notes (and therefore about handlers' ability to lend their note balances out overnight) didn't in my day apply to notes issued by commercial banks.

How central banks (which the B of E is, and the regional banks aren't) deal with currency issues has changed every few years over the past decade or two, and is subject to some pressure from global institutions. I've given up keeping up.

Don't forget: BofE notes are backed by a government that can't go bust. Regional notes are backed by commercial banks that can and in several cases have recently come damn close: they don't issue them for hokey regional prestige, but because note-issuing makes their (often non-British) owners richer. Such notes are illegal everywhere else except Hong Kong - precisely because there've been dozens of such bankruptcies since the introduction of paper money.

That extra risk is trivial to most consumers - but it has to be factored into the prices other commercial banks pay or receive for helping these notes' circulation.

It's called 'Pound Sterling', the official currency of the entire United Kingdom.>

and thus it is indeed a British Pound!

But people running greasy spoons in Leicester suburbs have a range of strategies (not all comfortable) for dealing with "customers" unwilling to pay in real money after consuming their mreal.>>


flanner - I look forward to reading the trip report for THAT holiday.

I've lived in northern Scotland for several years since moving from my native Australia. I take every opportunity I can to travel around the UK (this is an amazing country!) and have always been able to spend Scottish notes in England and vice versa. On maybe two occasions, one at last year's British F1 Grand Prix, I've been asked if I had any English notes and say "No, that's what the bank gave me this morning"; the Scottish notes are accepted and that's the end of it.

I've been told by a solicitor that no bank notes in the United Kingdom are, in the strictest sense, legal tender. They are simply promises to pay the bearer a sum of money if the note is presented at a specified location.

weird

gosh lets start dscussing the pounds in Jersey and Guernsey while we are at it.

The British pound is accepted everywhere, the outer countries are nearly always accepted (but why risk it).

The OP's book was taking the p@@s

"I've been told by a solicitor that no bank notes in the United Kingdom are, in the strictest sense, legal tender. They are simply promises to pay the bearer a sum of money if the note is presented at a specified location."

Get a different solictor as they are wrong.

Bank of England banknotes are legal tender in England and Wales - ie they can be used to settle debts. In Scotland only coins are legal tender. All bank notes - Scottish, English - are legal currency in Scotland but Scottish notes are not legal currency in England and Wales though they can used for purchases if the recipient agrees. Similar applies to Northern Ireland notes

The Channel Islands aren't part of the UK so wouldn't be a valid discussion.

Can I assume you're English? You seem to be regarding Scotland as an "outer country" which seems unusual for a union.

"In Scotland only coins are legal tender. All bank notes - Scottish, English - are legal currency in Scotland"

Seems to be a bit of a contradiction.

Can I assume you're English? You seem to be regarding Scotland as an "outer country" which seems unusual for a union.>>

can I assume that you are not from the UK? despite the fact that England and Scotland have been "united" for a substantial period, there are still internal animosities and tensions that you probably need to be a native to understand. ditto with Wales.

not in UK so not part of discussion

Who just made you pope? :-)

Last day in London - Gatwick airport, we thought we'd clean out our wallets by spending our last Scottish notes before we headed back to the States. A few of the airport shops would not accept the Scottish notes. So, heavy sigh, we'll just have to return to Scotland to spend that money.

"In Scotland only coins are legal tender. All bank notes - Scottish, English - AREN'T legal currency in Scotland"

we thought we'd clean out our wallets by spending our last Scottish notes before we headed back to the States>>

for future reference, a bank or even the post office would most likely have taken them. or even a change kiosk like travelex. but not shops.

I live in a small village (pop.700) in Lincolnshire and the corner shop is very happy to accept Scottish notes, so I cannot believe there are widespread problems.

Always travel with my trusty no fee capitalone.com Visa

Taken everywhere no shaft on the change get lots of FF miles

No liability like Debit Cards can dispute any charge

get my money back for bogus service etc...

Have never had a problem with sterling still coin of the realm

in all of Scotland Blair Castle in the Highlands is my clan

home so I go there a fair amount and have NEVER had problem.

www.coinmill.com for best current exchange rates

Might buy a new guidebook and Happy Travels!

"I live in a small village (pop.700) in Lincolnshire and the corner shop is very happy to accept Scottish notes, so I cannot believe there are widespread problems."

It really depends on where you're trying to spend them, if the shopkeeper is familiar with them they are more likely to accept them, if they rarely/never see them then they'll be reluctant to accept them in case they're fakes.

It really depends on where you're trying to spend them, if the shopkeeper is familiar with them they are more likely to accept them, if they rarely/never see them then they'll be reluctant to accept them in case they're fakes.>>

and it may depend on who is trying to use them - if you're a well known local you're more likely to be able to use them than if you're a totally unknown foreigner.

I have been visiting Scotland for about 40 years and have never had trouble with Scottish notes either in the village shop or in the supermarket. annhig may have a point about who is trying to use them. Certainly in the village I am a known local.
Canon Chasuble recently used a Scottish 20 in a change machine in a car park ;-)

I had not thought of that factor, annhig.