While in Edinburgh I used a RBS atm to pull out British Pounds. What came out of the atm was Scottish pounds. I was to use them to pay cash for an apartment in Budapest (my next stop -- owner wanted payment in pounds). When I got to Budapest he refused payment in the Scottish pounds and said they are worthless outside of the UK. Where in the USA (or Amsterdam my next stop) can I cash them in for dollars (or euros)?

You could try one of the GWK Travelex offices in Amsterdam or at Schiphol. There is a GWK office at Centraal Staion in Amsterdam and several in the city.
I have no idea if they will accept them though, since they are not officiial British pounds.

Otherwise there are online exchange places that will accept them, but you will probably get a terrible rate. Leftovercurrency.com says it will take them for instance. Have never used them so it is not a recommendation, merely a suggestion.

It won't help you, but you should have exchanged Scottish notes for Bank of England notes before leaving UK, at any bank branch free of charge. The same goes for Northern Ireland notes. While both can be generally used throughout UK, you will have problems using them outside UK - not everywhere but a lot of the times.
Large exchange offices at Schiphol or near Centraal station will probably take them, as they presumably get a lot of Scottish visitors.

Save them for your next trip.

This is a good example that the value of any currency is only as good as one's confidence in it. The notes are not "worthless" but due to unfamiliarity are often not accepted (even within England).

As suggested try and find a large exchange office in a popular tourist area.

They aren't worthless, the only currency that may be worthless outside a country is a country with a really unstable currency, not Scotland.

YOu can exchange foreign money at any Travelex location in the uS, which are in big cities or international airports should also do it. No, their rates aren't the greatest, but if you truly don't want it, nothing else you can do. You no doubt can at the Amsterdam airport, also.

<i>YOu can exchange foreign money at any Travelex location in the uS, which are in big cities or international airports should also do it</i>

I think you've missed the specific point here, the discussion is about Scottish notes. The problem is that the GBP notes issued by the Scottish banks (as opposed the the Bank of England) are unfortunately wholly unfamiliar to foreign exchange staff and bank tellers outside the UK. As they have not been trained how to determine if they are genuine or a forgery, they would take the risk-free option and decline them.

Moo: What did you do to pay in Budapest? You had to resolve that situation somehow.

<<The problem is that the GBP notes issued by the Scottish banks (as opposed the the Bank of England) are unfortunately wholly unfamiliar to foreign exchange staff and bank tellers outside the UK.>>

That's not it. There are other legal matters too that arise from the UK's decision NOT to create a paper money monopoly. The UK allows various banks to issue banknotes, which are usable throughout the UK. But only Bank of England notes are legal tender. RBS and other Scottish notes are not. Therefore they do not have to be accepted for payment of debts anywhere, including the four countries of the UK. That Scottish or Ulster businesses will accept them in their respective territories as a matter of course does not change the legal status of the banknotes.

If you're paying an obligation outside the UK, they ARE worthless because the obligee has no duty to accept them. Only if the obligee accepts the Scottish or Belfastian notes do they then have value.

Christina: Wrong >><i>They aren't worthless, the only currency that may be worthless outside a country is a country with a really unstable currency, not Scotland.</i><<

Scotland doesn't have a currency. The problem is these are Scottish Bank Notes (issued by commercial banks -- not by the Bank of England). They are accepted anywhere in Scotland - and as a courtesy some other places in the UK . . . but they are not 'official UK bank notes' useable anywhere else.

>><i>YOu can exchange foreign money at any Travelex location in the uS, which are in big cities or international airports should also do it.</i><<

Probably not

It is very likely they cannot be exchanged at any travelex (outside of the UK at least)

<<It is very likely they cannot be exchanged at any travelex (outside of the UK at least)>>

And that gets back into the legal tender issue - Scottish bank notes have value only because the Scots accept them but no person in the UK must accept them at all. The only official UK currency etched on paper (or whatever slim and foldable medium - US money is cotton, Aussie money is plastic) is Bank of England banknotes and that's true only for England and Wales. The rest are accepted by custom and can be exchanged for English notes.

This is a peculiarity of the English system (which the Brits foisted upon Macao and Hong Kong) and depends upon the historical importance and reliability of the pound. Even the more tied-to-HRM commonwealth countries (read: the Oceanian members) don't do this.

UK is switching to polymer notes in 2016 starting with £5.

A daft idea, probably, but there is at least one branch of RBS in Amsterdam. The staff may be able to advise you

Hmm, I think it was a daft idea. Perhaps there is no actual bank, but they have a headquarters in Amsterdam. http://www.rbs.com/about/worldwide-locations.html
They give phone numbers for all their head offices

RBS branch in Amsterdam is for corporate business only - no walk-in counters.

just send me the money and I can turn it into beer.

Do you know anyone going to UK soon?

Well I guess moo is now in Amsterdam, based on their other thread. It would be nice if they came back and let us know if they were able to exchange the notes. Could be useful for others too.

>But only Bank of England notes are legal tender. RBS and other Scottish notes are not. Therefore they do not have to be accepted for payment of debts anywhere, including the four countries of the UK.<

The old "legal tender" chestnut. Bank of England notes are not legal tender in Scotland nor are any notes.

"The legal position with regard to Scottish Banknotes is as follows:

Scottish Banknotes are legal currency – i.e. they are approved by the UK Parliament. However, Scottish Bank notes are not Legal Tender, not even in Scotland. In fact, no banknote whatsoever (including Bank of England notes!) qualifies for the term 'legal tender' north of the border and the Scottish economy seems to manage without that legal protection.

HM Treasury is responsible for defining which notes have ‘legal tender’ status within the United Kingdom and the following extract from Bank of England’s website may help to clarify what is meant by “legal tender” and how little practical meaning the phrase has in everyday transactions.

“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.”
(Ref. www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/faqs.htm.)"

http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/legal_position.php

Interesting, uruabam, but how does that help the OP?

>Interesting, uruabam, but how does that help the OP?<

Like 50% of the posts on Fodors, it doesn't. Just an interesting titbit.