Polymer money only

When I was in Edinburgh in 2019, the banks I visited would not change paper for polymer notes, since I was not a customer. The Post Office would exchange paper notes for dollars or euros, but could not make a straight exchange of paper pound notes for polymer. Since I was going to London anyway before coming home, I went to the Bank of England headquarters and exchanged the notes there. Their website has this information: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes

One of the B and B's replied that even though they're cash only, they won't take them. Haven't heard from the other. Plan B is go to my bank this week and see if I can trade. Otherwise I'll turn them in and lose a bit on the exchange.

The Royal Bank of Scotland is not a government bank. It's a private bank and you can buy stock in it. It's not a central bank like the Bank of England or the Bank of Canada. Scotland has the Bank of Scotland but they deal with Scottish money.

If you will be there next week, you shouldn't have a problem using them. I'm going to Scotland next week and have four 20 pound notes. I'll either change them here in England at my hotel or at my hotel in Scotland.

Here's info from the Bank of England on how to get new notes:

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/exchanging-old-banknotes

In London last month with two old £20’s, and we used them buying food - at a grocery and a deli. Whether Scottish merchants will be less willing than Londoners, I’d hope not.

We tried walking into a bank, and were told, in no uncertain terms, that only account holders’ cash would be exchanged. Will you be in Scotland long enough to have opportunities to spend your non-polymer bills - if the B&B’s refuse? I’d think most B&B’s would be accommodating to customers- unless their banks won’t let them deposit the cash, either.

Hopefully it won’t be too much trouble, or involve a long, arduous time in a bank.

We'll be in Scotland for 17 days, but I'm not going to risk the hassle. If my bank at home won't make a straight-up exchange then I'll cash them in and use an ATM in Scotland for cash needs.

The RBS, BoS, and Clydesdale Banks are all commercial banks, not a central bank like the Bank of England which sometimes is referred to as the Central Bank of the UK in specialised documents.

The promise on the notes 'to pay the sum of ten pounds' is to pay it at their head office rather than one of the branches.

We'll be in Scotland for 17 days, but I'm not going to risk the
hassle. If my bank at home won't make a straight-up exchange then I'll
cash them in and use an ATM in Scotland for cash needs.

Well, that didn't go as planned. My home bank (RBC) wouldn't exchange them or let me cash them in. I tried Calforex next, and they wanted nothing to do with the paper notes either. Looks like I'll be taking them with me and using cash wherever I can on this trip.

Use as many as you can. Then, if you know somebody going to London for business or vacation, see if they’ll go the the Bank of England and exchange them for you. Exchanging them only takes a few minutes. Maybe you could entice them by buying them a beer. When the other notes were converting and I had a bunch to exchange, I offered to exchange the old notes for new ones to my coworkers. I’m more afraid of getting stuck with a Bank of Scotland note that may not be as accepted in England.

I’m more afraid of getting stuck with a Bank of Scotland note that may
not be as accepted in England.

That's crossed my mind as well. I've never had cash that I couldn't give away before!

Looks like I'll be taking them with me and using cash wherever I can on this trip

If you encounter snags, Allan, treat yourself to a nicer restaurant … or two, or three. Tip generously. Consider that anything you can spend is a bonus, almost like receiving a “free” treat. Even put a donation or two into the boxes at any “free” museum you encounter - you’ll be a benefactor, for sure. Heck, buy a round for the house in a pub, and you’ll be The Man for everyone there - pick a pub. though, that isn’t packed shoulder to shoulder.

This could be your big splurge opportunity. I do hope you get a chance to get a 100% fair exchange, though, and get an even shake, without having to be a spendthrift.

Hi, Allan,

I e-mailed RBS, as I have 240 pounds in paper money left over from a previous trip. I received a very nice e-mail in return, stating that I could exchange the paper money for polymer money at any of their branch banks. I printed out the e-mail as proof, for when I go in to an RBS branch next week.

Obviously, this will only work until the paper notes go out of circulation at the end of September.

The RBS e-mail address which I used is [email protected]

I guess that this is too late to be of assistance to you. I hope that you were able to do the exchange without losing any money.

I hope that this helps anyone who may be in the same situation.

Best wishes,

Mike (Auchterless)

I got rid of my last 20 pound note today at my hotel in London. My only problem is I have two ten pound Scottish notes and people here don't want them. They have never seen them.

I guess that this is too late to be of assistance to you. I hope that
you were able to do the exchange without losing any money.

I found a money exchange office in Edinburgh that traded me for Bank of England notes. I took a bit of a hit, but it was worth the cost to be rid of the hassle.

Allan, you say you took a bit of a hit. Why did you not get the exact amount back when all you were doing was exchanging old paper for new paper of same denomination?

Laurie Beth, it was because it was a money exchange and not a bank. It had no interest in not profiting on the exchange. I was charged a percentage-which I can't remember, as a service fee. Probably cost me $20. I was out of options as my home banks and exchange services would not take them and the Scottish banks would only deal with its own customers.

Thanks, Allan. I missed the money exchange part. Well, at least you found a solution. I am always telling my adult daughter when she has a problem, if you can throw a little money at the problem to have it go away, that's a good thing.

I was able to exchange all of my 20 pound RBS notes at their branch in Arbroath. They did not give me any problem at all. One thing about the polymer notes - they tend to stick together. You have to be really careful that you're not handing out two notes instead of one.

I had a funny experience at the Bank of Scotland branch in Mallaig. I took 200 pounds out of the ATM, but they were all Bank of England notes. I went in to the branch the following day to exchange them for Scottish notes. The clerk said the it was usually the other way around - people exchanging Scottish notes for English notes. I told her that I felt disloyal using English money in Scotland.

Mike (Auchterless)

I wonder how these business survive that not only want cash but don't want a particular type of cash. They will be able to pay these into a bank account pretty much forever so there is no potential loss to them. I can only assume that they don't want to use a bank and are therefore on the fiddle.

One thing about the polymer notes - they tend to stick together

Mike, I wonder whether English polymer notes are any less sticky (oilier?) than the RBS bills you described? Do all polymer notes share the same properties, I wonder? Will there be modifications in the future, to make the notes less adhesive?

I will say, very new U.S. paper notes - very new, crisp ones, which also have some fabric fibers mixed into the pulp before it’s pressed out, printed, and cut, can be sticky. There’s a pink gel called Sortkwik, which bank tellers have used for decades, to help them grip notes for counting and distributing accurately.

Hi, Cyn,

The notes stick together when they're new. After they've been in circulation for a while, they get wrinkled and creased, and separate more easily. I found that to be the case with notes from all three Scottish banks. When I exchanged my old notes for new notes in Arbroth, they gave me a mix of polymer notes from all three banks, plus Bank of England. As they were well used, they didn't stick together. It's the notes from the ATM that gave me the most problem, as they were new and most likely uncirculated.

I brought home about 150 pounds, so now I'm all set for the next trip to Scotland.

Best wishes,

Mike (Auchterless)

Fyi to all, I walked into an RBS branch in Helensburgh on Tuesday, and the nice fellow there handed me 140 new polymer pounds for my 140 old paper pounds with no hassle at all. I wasn't sure - and he did at first ask me for my card, I explained that I was visiting and am not a bank member.

I have a feeling I just got lucky, but I was happy to get lucky !

Kim! That is good to hear!

Good news, Kim! Interesting that it was a Royal Bank of Scotland branch, not an English bank.

To be fair it is still very difficult to find an English bank here on the High Street.