Travel money in Scotland

Needing cash is rare, and nobody in the UK wants your $US. Have some £'s on hand just in case but in most situations your credit cards will work fine.

Just use your cards - you are very unlikely to need cash. I have a chip and signature card, and most of the time I just use contactless (I believe the limit is £100 per transaction). Beyond that it prompts for a signature, and I've never had an issue. Not sure about US banks, but my credit card PIN is only for cash advances.

I spend a lot of time in Scotland. I have used Google Pay on my phone for anything under 100 GBP (or my credit card if there are tech issues) and my credit card for things over 100 GBP. (I'm usually asked to sign.) So tap for under 100, sign for over 100.

The only times I've needed cash were to pay for a hair cut and for a few cabs in Dundee where the drivers prefer it. I took cash out of the ATM with my standard debit card.

By the way, few US cards are actually chip and pin. The pins are mostly to be used at ATM's.

You'll be fine with what you have.

You may notice that if you get money from a Scottish ATM or change from a store, it will be Scottish Pounds, not British Pounds. Perfectly legal only some stores in England don't want to accept them. Just ask at your hotel to change them to British pounds. Exact same value.

Yes the contactless limit is £100 per transaction. Except - if you use your phone with Apple Pay or Google Pay that limit doesn't apply. I have bought whole computer systems using Apple Pay...

So, it’s been a few years since I was in Scotland, but I will mention this just in case it may still be an issue. I did not stay in any hotels in the three weeks I was there, and I found some of the B&Bs I stayed in wanted to be paid in cash, not credit card. Which I thought was strange because I made the reservation with my credit card. One place in a smaller town was a bit of a problem because I was low on cash, and the only ATM I found was out of order. I had to circle back to it twice before it was operational and I could get some cash to pay for my room. So it might be a good idea to have enough cash stowed away to pay for your lodgings. Plus, the Interac system is known to have its own issues at times. Just recently here there was a widespread glitch and people got caught in grocery store lineups without the cash to pay for their groceries.

It is worth having a few GBP in your pocket. Just use an ATM and get out 50 GBP or so, that gives each maybe 20. You will not need much cash, but sometimes for very small amounts, it is easier, if you are driving, some parking may require coins, and I found laundries sometimes needed coins if they have not been updated. Whatever you do, especially if you get Scottish notes, is towards the end of your trip, use it up.

Whatever you do, especially if you get Scottish notes, is towards the
end of your trip, use it up.

Unless you plan on returning soon--then any leftover cash is not a problem: :) Last year I took out 100 pounds--10 tenners--from a Royal Bank of Scotland ATM. I came home with 60, which will be going back to Scotland with me this spring.

I used my contactless credit cards everywhere, for nearly everything. I would have tipped my waiters (a UK-appropriate 10 percent) in cash, but at the beginning of my stay I didn't have any cash, and after I got it, there was so little use for it that I never broke any of those 10-pound notes! I tried to exchange a couple for fives at my hotel's front desk, but they said they didn't have any. It was an almost totally tap-and-pay trip.

Do you and your wife just have one Visa card between you? I would get a 2nd card as a back up just in case that card gets flagged for fraud along the way. I recently had my AMEX card compromised overnight here at home and might have had problems if I'd been traveling and that was the only card I had. (And I would not have had just and AMEX card before anyone says anything) Check but your debit card, which is a Mastercard?, may be able to be used as a CC as well. No need for a PIN but any new one will come with a chip.

Meanwhile, after 2 weeks last summer in Aberdeen, Orkney and Shetland, I happily Apple-Pay'd my way across the land, including cute little craft shops, lol! I never used any cash although I had about 100GBP left over from a previous trip.

Do you and your wife use Apple Pay or Google Pay? If not, I'd suggest you both set it up on your phones and practice with it at home before you travel. This is so easy. Your existing CC and debit card can be added to your wallets on your phones with password protection.

In the north of England in the spring I only had to use cash at the small ice cream vendor vans at the seaside...ice cream needs cash, hahaha!

I’d also advise using ApplePay or GooglePay, then you don’t have to worry about the £100 contactless limit. You can pay for everything that way. It’s also good advice to bring several cards as backup. You might want to get a small amount of cash out when you arrive just in case it’s needed for something.

We always have some cash, but almost everything is contactless payment. Use the cards you have.

Do you and your wife just have one Visa card between you? I would get a 2nd card as a back up just in case that card gets flagged for fraud along the way.

I was going to say this but Pam beat me to it. Nonetheless, I'd like to stress the importance of having more than one credit card. Stuff happens.

If you just get money from a machine it will give you Scottish notes. These are all legal, even in England, but if your trip or a return trip takes you into England you'll find that you may have trouble spending them especially as you go further south.

Notes issued by the Bank of England are in common use all over the UK, in all 4 nations. Scottish notes are issued by two Scottish banks, don't look the same, and both types are often seen as foreign by shopkeepers in the south.

Moral of the story, be sure what you are getting, and in change in the shops. Contactless works almost everywhere.

If you just get money from a machine it will give you Scottish notes.\

A friend of mine in Scotland suggested I get my cash form an "English" bank rather than a Scottish one for British pounds. It worked.

I think it was HSBC. Unfortunately, the branch has since closed.

Nonetheless, I'd like to stress the importance of having more than one
credit card. Stuff happens.

I posted a story as a warning a couple of years ago before I was to leave for Scotland. About 2 weeks before my trip I had stopped at a gas station to fill my tank. I discovered that the chip on my primary credit card had stopped working; no problem, I pulled out my backup card but it also didn't work. As it turns out, if you don't use your card in a certain period of time, it goes dormant. So I'm 2 weeks out with no credit cards. Luckily a replacement for one card was processed and mailed to me a couple of days before we left. But since then, I've made sure to use my secondary card every couple of months to keep it active, and also double check expiry dates a couple of months in advance of my trip, just to be sure.

I've found that chip-n-pin cards are very hit/miss in the UK (and Europe in general). The point of sale terminals seem to see the fact that they're US cards as a reason to not enable contactless/chip-n-pin even when the card advertises it. That said, the cards always work in the end with chip-n-signature, although sometimes the clerk will become testy at having to track down a pen for you to sign. I wouldn't bother getting cash prior to travel, but pull a little cash out an ATM once you're there. Although tipping is not part of the culture in Scotland, generally tips are done with cash and not added to the credit card charge as in NA. There is no line on the CC receipt for tip and servers don't want the money going to the restaurant owner/taxed. So that'd be the main reason for having some cash other than for emergencies, toilets that want a pound coin and so on. Parking meters are usually cashless now which can be painful as they want an app to be used and the apps often can't be used with non-UK phones (due to wanting to send an SMS to confirm your number).

Allan, I remember your trial with your CCs. And yes to using your debit cards every few months as well. I never use my money market account debit card for normal things but always take it to Europe as my back up debit to my Credit Union debit card. Even the CU debit has not been used much since covid but it's contactless so perhaps I should try it! Thanks for the excellent reminder to keep them all working!

BTW, to the OP. I didn't say upthread but I am a solo traveler and I take 3 credit cards and 2 debit cards. I had always taken 2 credit cards (VISA and American Express) but at the end of the pandemic when I started traveling again I decided I wanted to have as much reserve available in case I needed extra stays in Europe or needed to buy a separate return ticket. I've never had an emergency requiring that kind of outlay but it makes me feel better.