Cash or credit cards in Edinburgh?

Credit cards!

In our 16 days in Scotland in 2022 I don’t recall using cash in Edinburgh at all. The only two places that we required cash was a Bed and Breakfast in Mull and at a micro brewery's restaurant in Glasgow.

Definitely credit card or some other form of electronic payment (i.e., Apple Pay, Google Wallet, etc.). The only times I needed cash in Scotland were on the Isle of Skye (the gift shop at the Museum of Island Life and the tiny laundromat under the hostel in Portree).

Most definitely credit cards! Edinburgh is very much tap-and-pay at this point.

I stayed there for 6 days last year and 5 days this year (with the other 4 days of my visit being based in Glasgow), and I'm pretty sure the only occasions on which I used cash were to give a tip to the driver/guides on my day trips out of town.

An initial ATM withdrawal of 100 GBP lasted me two years, and I still have a tenner left over for my next trip. :)

I use credit cards (usually via Apple Pay) all over Europe and the UK and never have had a a problem. I was in Scotland last year for 3 weeks and almost 6 weeks in England this year, and used credit cards for every transaction, except one.

See the answers to your question about London.

To echo everyone else, credit card. In three weeks last year, I never pulled out a even a credit card, using my Android for "Tap to pay" instead. Even tiny transactions, like a single beer or a postcard. There are occasional B&Bs or boat trips that are cash only.

The problems start when you have bills left over and try to spend them in England, and get funny looks, or refusals. Shouldn't happen, but it does, and has, to me.

How about on hop on hop off buses or Airlink 100 from airport to hotel? Did you use tap/card payment or did you need to purchase tickets prior to riding on them.? Thank you for any advice on this.

Shouldn't happen, but it does, and has, to me.

Scottish notes are not legal tender and retailers in England , Wales or Northern Ireland can accept or refuse them at their destination.

Scottish notes are not legal tender and retailers in England , Wales or Northern Ireland can accept or refuse them at their destination.

I'm not certain that's entirely accurate, but it does reflect daily realities in the UK. Frankly, the whole business of English and Scottish banks issuing currency that may or may not be accepted at a particular merchant makes avoidance of cash all the more attractive to visitors to the UK.

How about on hop on hop off buses or Airlink 100 from airport to hotel?

I took the Airlink 100 to the airport day before yesterday and tapped to pay.

Frankly, the whole business of English and Scottish banks issuing currency that may or may not be accepted at a particular merchant makes avoidance of cash all the more attractive to visitors to the UK.

English banks don't issue their own notes, only Scottish and Northern Irish banks do. It is a crazy system but their is no political gain to be made by fixing it. Any govt. who tired wouldn't win an votes in England but would be crucified by nationalists in the other nations.

You might be confused by the Bank of England notes, the BoE is not a retail bank but the central govt. reserve.

Somewhere on their website they have a page explaining why Scottish notes are not legal tender but also that it doesn't matter because "legal tender" doesn't mean what you think it does.

Peter, you've helped me to better understand the whole ridiculous business of British currency; thank you very much! Understanding it, of course, doesn't make it any less ridiculous, nor does it diminish my strong preference for avoiding the use of cash whenever possible, and not just in the UK.

We've also seen a wide variety of ridiculous statutes and regulations lately in the US, and the disincentives that prevent our lawmakers from addressing them rationally. Just part of Our Modern World, I suppose.

I'm not certain that's entirely accurate,

It is entirely accurate.

Well, I'm going to go against the flow here. I use cash in Scotland whenever and wherever I can. And if I have money left over (which I usually do), I save it for next time. And there's always a next time! Obviously I usually use a card for lodging, but if the accommodation offers a discount for cash, then cash it is!

Mike (Auchterless)

It is entirely accurate

Your statement was indeed entirely accurate, and my response was clumsily worded; apologies and mea culpa. What I should have said was that "legal tender" is a term whose meaning is often not really understood. The fact is that GBP obtained in Scotland may be no more accepted in England by some merchants than US dollars. As I said, a ridiculous situation.

from the official horse's mouth https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/what-is-legal-tender

I can see that the situation with Scottish notes is frustrating for tourists but it’s not something that is an issue for people living here so it won’t change. Obviously everything is card now anyway but in the past I could easily spend Scottish notes at a big retailer like a supermarket or I could just pay them into my bank account.

Helen, respectfully, your comment is at odds with what a couple of Scottish friends have told me. They find it ridiculous and annoying that their currency is sometimes refused when they travel to England.

Yeah it can be refused for sure. In my past experience it was easier to spend in large stores rather than pubs or small shops.

English banks don't issue their own notes, only Scottish and Northern Irish banks do. It is a crazy system but their is no political gain to be made by fixing it. Any govt. who tired wouldn't win an votes in England but would be crucified by nationalists in the other nations.

It won't be the nationalists in Scotland and NI crucifying the govt, it will be everyone! The nats in NI want the euro as part of being in the Republic! Plus the only way it would even vaguely happen if the BofE was renamed to 'Central Bank of the United Kingdom' which would not go down well in England.

For the question, the best I'd say is to have a mixture. You can pay for most things by card now, but it is useful to have cash on hand for smaller purchases and places that don't take card.

Using Scottish banknotes in England and Wales is usually OK, but there are places that still won't accept them, even when they are printed that morning in my backroom. Apparently they recognised the model I'd used for King Robert on the £20, should not have used it the day after the Calcutta Cup.

Machines that take notes will take them as they are the same sizes and colour schemes for the same denominations, and the Royal Bank notes are now really great pieces of art in their own right.

Basically, this situation is never going to change so it just has to be accepted and seen as part of the experience of visiting Scotland that you get to see and use their unique notes.

It's certainly not as big a deal as jphbucks makes out . Never been much of an issue for me in practice either Helen.

Try spending a Bank of England £50 note in England or anywhere else if you want some fun.

"Try spending a Bank of England £50 note in England or anywhere else if you want some fun."

Challenge accepted! To that end, would someone be so kind as to loan me a £50 note?

``Money, if it does not bring you happiness, will at least help you be miserable in comfort.'' - Helen Gurley Brown

I have a friend from Northern Ireland that finds it "ridiculous and annoying" when their notes aren't accepted in Scotland. I think he has a point as at least you'd think shops etc there might be more accustomed to the concept of various issuers than in England.

My theory is that "foreign" notes (as the Bank of England refer to them) may have faced a drop in acceptance in England recently as cash use has declined overall so the current designs have been seen less frequently. I don't recall much problem ~20 years ago when I was frequently travelling between England & Scotland.

To be fair, a £50 like all high denomination notes in most places will wipe out a small businesses register in one transaction. A lot of people also tend to think of £50 notes as a sign you get cash in hand from some ne'er-do-well elements.

So if someone lends me a 50 pound note and I order 10 pints and pay for it with said borrowed note and then drink the 10 pints, will I-- and mind you I am paying close attention to your answer to determine if I should accept this challenge after all-- be able to comprehend if this is an imposition on the pub owner or will I be too snookered?

Ten pints will cost you more than £50 in most pubs these days.

Helen, thanks for the correction!

May I borrow two 50 pound notes then?

Happy travels!

In the 1970s Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, both book and radio, Ford Prefect slams down a £5 for six pints in the pub and 'keep the change'.

In the 2005 it is a £50 note he uses.

My theory is that "foreign" notes (as the Bank of England refer to them) may have faced a drop in acceptance in England recently as cash use has declined overall so the current designs have been seen less frequently. I don't recall much problem ~20 years ago when I was frequently travelling between England & Scotland.

Also worthwhile remembering that the polymer £20 notes came in in March 2020, days before the UK entered lockdown with Covid.