Credit Card vs. Paper Pounds in England

That was my experience as well. No need to get very many pounds at all.

Pretty much been that way since last Fall. Spent all of November 2021 there and very rarely used cash. That was due to Covid but I think vendors liked the ease of tap CC / Debit cards. So its now the norm.

I think I have said that in several threads.

Last time I spent cash was last summer in order to get rid of an old paper £20 note before it went out of use.

And our cards will give us either 1.5% cashback, 2% on restaurants, no FTF. Cheaper than cash.

I’ve had the same £60 in my wallet for months and months now… cash is rarely needed.

Polymer pounds are fine, paper is on the way out.

Mike, it is interesting you mentioned that the English bills are made of polymer. It is a very different feel. When I first got the currency I was concerned it was fake since it felt differ3nt than any other paper currency I had handled.

Got back from a ten day trip earlier this month, the only time I used cash was when the card machine was down at one pub or to play the fruit machines. I came home with a £10 note and a few coins.

@ periscope

Thanks for the acknowledgement. Yes along time ago 1996. Have moved on through C/C and debt card tap and go. Now the majority use Apple or Gpay. Our children start using digital wallets a little after learning to walk. Only drug dealers, organised crime gangs and the insane still use cards or cash.

Regards Ron

the pandemic made tap to pay the norm and hooray for that, however I still carry local loot for the same reason I have a spare tire in my car I've never needed. because one day I will.

I still occasionally pay for things with cash and coins and have never had anyone ask me not to. It’s kind of been a self-imposed taboo during the pandemic, since gov advice was to pay with card as much as possible (which may explain why establishments are requesting card first).

I’m surprised people said they would accept card only and not cash to you though, seems very unusual to me.

In London, I saw several card only places. Definitely the Pret in Soho as well as the Chipotle on Charing Cross Road. This was as of a couple weeks ago. Also both my London hotel and my Liverpool hotel had no cash policies.

I have gone back to using cash for most things, except filling up the car!
Never come anyone not accepting it yet
However abroad i always tried to use use Credit Card as better rate than buying local currency

We used credit cards and Apple Pay almost exclusively on our recent London trip. It's nice to have a small amount of cash to drop in the donation box at museums, etc., but other than that, we didn't need it.

Having no trouble with cash in Scotland. Everyone happy to accept it, some even grateful that I'm using coins for small purchases.

Has anyone else traveled to Scotland recently and could inform us if paper currency in required, or could we perform all transactions with credit cards?

Roger,

We recently completed the R.S. tour of southern England, and we did have numerous bars and restaurants that pushed back when we tried to pay with paper currency.

PaulB, you'll have no trouble with credit cards from where we've been so far, which is mainly Edinburgh plus one Rabbies tour of of town. My comment was intended to let people know that we've had no problem with cash either.

Coming up though, we have two B and B's that have informed us of being cash only as they don't have electronic payment hardware.

we did have numerous bars and restaurants that pushed back when we tried to pay with paper currency.

Sounds like some establishments have become too used to the convenience of card payments, not having to provide change, no requirement to cash up and bank the takings etc. If they're pushing back at taking cash push back at them, there's no legitimate reason not to accept cash.

So, do people ask places if they take cash now, before sitting down these days?

I can also see that without cash, its harder for employees to steal.

Here in the US, if I see a card/tap only sign, Ill make a point of letting them know I wont be purchasing anything even if I would have used a card.

I will always have currency with me, just in case. I am fond of going to flea/vintage markets and bargaining when using a credit card just isn't cool, to me...though this trip I didn't find anything to bargain about in Portobello Road :( I was in London in April and had 300 in cash that I spent down to 40; yes, much easier to use my card, so I used it here and there--shopping, topping my Oyster card--to lighten the debt on my card.

I've been asking before I pay. Came across my first place this morning with a sign that says they prefer plastic. Took my cash though.

We just spent 10 days in Scotland and 3 days in London, and we used our card (tap & pay) everywhere. We took out 40 pounds on our first day, and finally bought some things with cash just to be rid of it. Even the pay toilets were taking tap & pay.

Called into a local Wetherspoons for fish and chips and a pint today (£7.55) and their card readers weren't working
Luckily I had cash

We are in Cornwall right now and the public parking required coin to pay or to use the app. Luckily a storekeeper helped us out. Now we will make sure we have the coins needed. Otherwise, we have
tapped and paid everywhere else.

I would certainly recommend downloading the parking app (RingGo is the one the vast majority of car parks use). It's far easier than having to ensure you have enough coins and the correct amount as most machines won't give change. You also don't have to worry about exceeding your time limit as you can extend it via the app from wherever you are.

In England, there is a 100 pound credit limit on contactless CCs (formerly 45 pounds during Covid) for UK CCs especially if a card is used frequently....Then merchants are asking also for a PIN OR the CC Mastercard or VISA can refuse payments, especially if the CC doesn't have a PIN.

Does anyone know if this aplies to USA Issued CCs?

Thank you

https://www.visa.co.uk/how-you-pay-matters/payment-technologies/contactless.html

@jennyr - Over £100 it was chip and sign on my recent trip to Scotland and northern England. I never needed a PIN other than at the ATM with my ATM card.

It’s best to leave tips as cash so that the staff get it rather than the vendor. I have had numerous occasions when the card reader hasn’t worked and I have had to pay cash for meals. Most of my purchases are on card.

When we were in England and made a couple purchases on £100.00 we just tapped. No signing necessary.

Hope you all check your statements
I got charged twice on my credit card for a meal for four in Germany in 2015
I only normally use that card abroad
I got it back eventually and it worked out well in the end as i then had credit on my credit card and when i stopped in Belgium in 2016 my accommodation wanted to be paid in cash so was able to withdraw that money from an ATM with no charges

Just got back a few weeks ago from the UK and the street vendors, Museums, market vendors, and even most of the Buskers in the Tube now only take contact less payment. The whole trip was basically cashless.

I went in September and brought cash. I wish that I hadn't bothered. I used Google Pay for everything.

Glad I came across this post. Was just about to order pounds for our trip in July 2023. I will be traveling with my husband and adult son and we will be in London for 1 week so should I purchase any pounds ahead of time? If so how much would you recommend? I Reading through previous comments someone mentioned that there is a 100 pound daily limit using credit card??? and on another post someone mentioned certain US issued visa and mastercard did not work for transportation? Appreciate any advice/insight

Marklar74, we just returned from our second trip this year (my other half is a British ex-pat). We've found that for card tap purchases over 100 pounds with an American-issued card, we had to sign for them. Both a waiter and a salesperson at Liberty seemed startled when signature slips started printing. For ApplePay purchases over that threshold, transactions did not require a signature. We personally haven't experienced issues with American-issued cards with TfL. On both trips, we carried pound notes but beyond a tip to a luggage porter never used them. I would recommend not purchasing currency ahead.

Reading through previous comments someone mentioned that there is a 100 pound daily limit using credit card???

not quite. The limit on credit card purchases will be the limit set by your institution.

There is a £100 per transaction limit on contactless payments (using a card with the wavy lines which doesn't need anything more a gentle waft in close proximity to a machine) but not a daily limit. Again, your bank or other institution may have their own limits.

Generally there is a much higher, or none, limit on Apple Pay.

@ Nancy @ Nigel
Thank you for clarifying the 100 pound limit.....so its just for the contactless purchases....I can use my card over 100 pounds per day (up to limit set by bank) it would just require using the chip reader or swipe Im assuming and sign for purchases?
Relieved to hear you did not have problems using your US credit card on the tube....Im debating purchasing an oyster card or just using credit card.

Rethinking pre purchasing pounds....maybe just a small amount 100 pounds?
Thanks again for the information I do appreciate it

I can use my card over 100 pounds per day (up to limit set by bank) it would just require using the chip reader or swipe Im assuming and sign for purchases?

nearly. As I said above, it is £100 max per card contactless transaction (set by the government). You can go into store A and buy £99 worth of groceries, walk next door into store B and buy £95 worth of cosmetics (a much smaller bag), and cross the street to a Tube station and put £25 on your Oyster Card, all contactlessly, all with the same card, all within 5 minutes, and it will work fine as long as your bank or card issuer hasn't put a daily limit on the card.

The limit is £100 per transaction. During covid it was relaxed from its previous limit of £45 which was an improvement on the original limit of £30 when contactless was first trialed several years ago.

So glad I tripped over this discussion. I was about to get $250 or $300 converted to pounds while the exchange rate is relatively low. Sounds like if I do bother, it certainly shouldn't be that much for an 8-day visit.

Thanks!

"I was about to get $250 or $300 converted to pounds while the exchange rate is relatively low."

You could just wait until you get there and use an ATM if needed unless you feel you'll need it for transportation in to town? I'm assuming any GBP you get from your bank here will all be the plasticized bills. I've got a bunch of the old bills left from 2018 and will have to go to the Bank of England to trade them in on my first full day.

Pam, I confess it's been so long since I used an ATM that I forgot they existed. I usually get cash as change for a debit purchase but it sounds like many vendors don't have cash to give out. I've never tried getting cash from an ATM with credit card, but I'd prefer to not carry a debit card too.

Thanks!