Scotland pounds

Why not just withdraw small amount from an ATM when you get there?

Scottish notes are not legal tender in England...

They are not legal tender in Scotland either.

Whoops! Accidentally deleted my post.

They are valid UK currency. And after we insisted, the businesses did accept them.

When we visited Scotland and England in 2018, we had leftover "Scottish" pounds. Banks would not exchange them for "English" pounds for us since we did not have an account with them. We had trouble spending them because businesses did not want to accept them. We had to insist that they were valid in England. I realize that this is the opposite of what you would like to do, but I would say do not count on it.

Specifically, it was the three banks that we stopped at to try to exchange them that told us to just spend them. They said businesses had to accept them.

I don't mean to cause any controversy here. My point is to let the OP know that banks will probably not exchange them for you because you don't have an account with them. That was our experience.

You cannot insist anywhere in England to accept Scottish notes - no one is legally required to accept them. You are likely to find them relatively easy to use in northern England. The further south you go the harder it will be but anyone is perfectly entitled to refuse them - you can’t insist.

You cannot insist anywhere in England to accept Scottish notes

I've had pretty good luck in the past not insisting as such, but telling people it's fine to accept Scottish notes in London when I've had an initial refusal. It depends how you go about it. I've had very little cause to use cash at all in the last decade so it's a bit of a moot point. John is right though. Nobody is obliged to take your money if they don't want to.

In answer to the OP's question, if you need cash in Scotland just take it from an ATM as CJean says. Whatever that spits out will be good, English or Scottish notes.

A small point, but the distinction isn't between "British" and "Scottish" notes (notes are what we call bills in British English). Scottish notes are also British.

Here's a link to the section of the Wikipedia page on Pound Sterling which goes some way to explaining.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pound_sterling#Legal_tender_and_national_issues

This was said in a post about British vs Scottish pounds several months ago:

" -In Scotland, some cash machines will give you Scottish notes and some will give you British notes. If the bank is based in Scotland (Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale) you will get not only Scottish notes but notes particular to one of those three banks- each bank prints its own notes. If you go to a cash machine from a bank based elsewhere in the UK or a global brand, like HSBC, you'll get British notes."

So if that's true, you just need to find an ATM for one of those banks. Or if you're a collector (I'm guessing that's why you want them), hit all three and get the complete set! The ATM fees might be a deterrent, though...

Getting back to your original question....you don't need to exchange British pounds for Scottish pounds. You can use British pounds in Scotland since Scotland is in Britain. In Scotland, they are interchangable.

I spend a lot of time in Scotland--I'm there now--and I have never had any business refuse British pounds.

If for some reason you just want Scottish pounds as a souvenir, just ask at your hotel. They'll do it.

I do just the opposite when I leave Scotland. If I have any Scottish pounds, I ask them to exchange them for British pounds when I leave. Less hassle outside of Scotland.

Just to reiterate, British does not equal English. I'm not making any political point. The differences we're talking about here are notes issued by Scottish banks versus notes issued by The Bank of England. Both are British.

It does get a bit confusing about what to call the notes issued by the Bank of England. It's true they are technically English but I think calling them "English notes" might lead people to think you can't use them in the other three constituent countries. For clarification, both Scotland and Northern Ireland issue their own notes- Scotland across three different banks and NI across another three. Wales does not issue any notes. England issues one type of note that you can use anywhere in the UK. So at any given time, across the whole of the UK, there are seven different sets of notes in circulation! Altho these days you're unlikely to see any as we are mostly cashless.

It sounds like you think you need Scottish pounds. You don’t! You can spend Bank of England notes with no problem in Scotland. There is no need to change them.

Thanks everyone for the detailed response. Someone understood EXACTLY - I just would like some Scotish pounds as a keepsake and wondered since I will come to Scotland with "British notes" if I could go to a bank and exchange a few. Someone (thank you) said to simply ask the hotel. I will. Happy Travels. Colleen

I don't understand the resistance to calling English notes English notes. It seems everyone is determined to be wrong though. Is it based around some misplaced ideas about Scottish nationalism? I've never come across anyone calling English notes British outside of this forum.

I think there has been some confusion over the question - the OP would like to have some Scottish pounds, it's nothing to do with spending them in England.

So my answer is, if you are travelling to Scotland and you have some "Bank of England" notes left from a previous trip (or a friend/neighbour's previous trip!) bring them, they are OK in Scotland and when you spend them you might get your change in Scottish notes. If not, don't put yourself out buying any at home just make sure you have credit/debit card which has been OK'd for foreign use (if it needs to be) and withdraw cash from an ATM. Read the ATM notices carefully, those that say FREE mean they don't levy a fee, but your card issuer might. If they don't say free they may levy a fee - and that type can usually be avoided.

Because most people use the cards when abroad UK banks are now mostly out of foreign currency exchanging, some won't even do it for their account holders.

And if you are collecting notes as a hobby, bear in mind that Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale Bank are all authorised to produce notes, so your hunt will be for three of each value!!!

The Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey also issue their own banknotes- if you want to collect the currencies of the United Kingdom.

thanks so much for the information. I will check as I travel.

you can also look out for Northern Ireland notes. Same principle as Scottish but with one feature that will blow minds - one of the three authorised banks is Danish owned and the name Danske Bank is used on their notes! That ought to be worth framing in a collection...

To bypass the bank requirement to have an account, use the Main Post Office. I had old English pounds that were no longer in circulation, but still considered legal tender. I had no issues going to the Post Office at Edinburgh Waverly train station and trading them for current issue. I got Scottish pounds handed to me. I just made a point of spending them in Scotland. Post Office gave nk hassles, asked no questions, just did the transactions. As of April 2026.

Since you want the Scottish currency as a souvenir, simply make a small purchase with your larger British note and you'll most likely receive your change with Scottish notes and coins.

Scottish notes and coins.

Scottish banks don't issue coins. All coins in the UK are issued by The Royal Mint.

Okay, you'll probably receive your change in Scottish notes and British coins.

And I'll probably be corrected again for using the wrong words.

I'll probably be corrected again for using the wrong words.

"British" as a descriptor is much more "on the money" so to speak, when you're talking about coins, given that they're all issued by one central institution for the whole UK. So, no, I don't think there's any correction needed in this case. It's the British notes versus English notes thing that seems to have been confusing people in this thread.

if looking for notes as souvineers look out for £5 notes from Royal bank of Scptland and Bank of Scotland, lots of different ones commemeration Historical,Cultural,Geographic and Sporting subjects, a few years ago the RBS Jack Nicklaus £5 note was very highly sought after. Not sure where you would get them as I don't see that many £5 notes around though the one I have in my wallet is a King Charles Bank of England one.I find more and more that the Scottish banks are issuing less notes than they use to and the bank of Scotland ATM I use has in recent months only issued Bank of England notes.
Bank of England is a bit of a misnomer in that it is actually the UK Central bank and has no branches in the UK anymore.
If in Edinburgh might be worth visiting the Bank of Scotland museum on the Mound https://museumonthemound.com/ .
They might be able to advise you on what notes to look out for or give you info on how to find some that may be of interest. The Museum is in the heart of the tourist area and only about 100 yards from the Royal Mile, so easy to get to.

"Cashless cliques" I recently returned from a week in Paris and was surprised at the lack of Euros I needed. I didn't rush to the ATM as I had about 20 Euros and didn't get cash for several days and then it was only 100 Euros for tips and toilet (and even that used Apple Pay.) Most places accepted Apple Payi and credit cards. What a deferent world we live in.

You might find this from the Scottish Police Authority interesting. A few things in there, there was an expectation of 6% cash use by 2031 but there has been an increase in cash use during the cost of living and pandemic. it is easier to budget with cash, and also there is the element of hiding price rises cashless. A coffee is a tap and go, with cash it is a £5 to the barista and shrapnel and 'oh, how much?' with cash.

New coins have not been ordered by HM Treasury for a while, which is why Charles III coins, which are some of the best we've had are not being seen in circulation.

Some businesses in rural areas are often 'cash preferred' due to the costs of card transactions, with some businesses in towns and cities effectively cashless to avoid fraud.

In terms of 'Scottish' notes or 'English' ones. A bit of a story rehashed when I collected coins. The coins are British no question asked. Coins are 'money', and are issued by the state. Hence almost all countries have some variation of heraldry, the effigy of a reigning monarch, or a state name on the coins. These elements are on the coins of the euro. Notes are promises to pay, even in fiat currency that remains, and are very pretty fixed denomination cheques, issued by the bank. And most issuing banks were private in some respect to be separate from the state itself. The names remain in the UK issuing banks of where they operated, 'Scottish' or 'English'. Although the BofE is officially behind the scenes the 'Central Bank of the United Kingdom' keeping the name Bank of England means it keeps an English identity and the imagery on its notes tends English history. Some countries of course the notes are clearly issued in the name of the state, even if the imagery is still 'private bank promisery'

The last non Bank of England banknotes in England stopped being issued in 1921 when the Fox, Fowler Bank of Wellington, Somerset, was bought by Lloyds and the terms of the 1844 Act meant its right to issue ended.

The Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey also issue their own banknotes- if you want to collect the currencies of the United Kingdom.

But they aren’t currencies of the United Kingdom. Those places aren’t in the United Kingdom.

And cash is more expensive for vendors than non-cash transactions. It’s not a “clique” thing. It’s a maths thing.

I found 80 Scottish pounds tucked away in my passport when I got home in 2023. Two years later I went to England. I asked the driver that picked me up if I would have trouble spending the Scottish pounds in England (I read that I might). He said no, but if I did spend them somewhere else. I had no trouble spending them, but after they were gone everything was contactless.

£10 note and getting back £5.60 in change

so did you give them the Pound back?

That £3 bus fare will go down to £2 again in January

Yes, technically the IoM, Jersey, Guernsey, Gib, St Helena, and Falkland pounds are different currencies. But they are at par 1:1, and the Bank of England sets their interest rates and on the international markets they only really exist as subsets of the pound sterling. So effectively they are British currencies if not 'United Kingdom' as such. As there are fewer people who use them in total than a lot of mid sized local authorities, less than 300 000, seeing the notes is extraordinarily rare though you might - might - come across the coins in change as they were all minted on the same blanks in Llantrisant. Got a Manx 20p the other day.

I quite like Jersey's notes, which are also in three languages.

A lot of businesses in rural areas including the highlands and islands here are cash preferred because of the cost of handling credit cards to the business.

My Dad still uses cash most of the time and gets the wrong change frequently because staff aren’t used to handling it anymore. As long as he’s up on the transaction he’s not going to say anything!

WOW - That is interesting and I will keep in mind. I was only planning on using cash for the tour tips and small items (coffee shops, etc), just in case. But thanks for the information.

cash preferred because of the cost of handling credit cards to the business.

Cash costs businesses more than accepting only cards.

Some may speculate on why businesses persist with being cash only. (Although it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out).