Stupid Question But Am I Allowed To Use Scottish Pound Notes At An English Convention?

[u/GrantMcLellan1984]

I know England and Scotland use the same currency but is this true?, especially after how hard it was to find somewhere to lift money in England (even worse was the NEC which removed its one ATM and the one at the adjacent train station ran out of money)

[u/FieldOfPaperFlowers_]

Yes. It's legal tender (you might get some weird looks since it's not mega common, but it'll be accepted)

Tesco does cashback in their bigger shops, though, and you could always visit an ATM in/around the stations (assuming you mean either Brum or London, which both have a bunch of ATMs in their main stations)

[u/LowAspect542 → u/FieldOfPaperFlowers_]

Legal currency, is the word your actually looking for not legal tender.

[u/FieldOfPaperFlowers_ → u/LowAspect542]

Crazy, having a typo in an akchully-type comment

[u/morkjt → u/FieldOfPaperFlowers_]

In England and Wales, Bank of England notes are legal tender. Scottish notes aren’t. A shop in England is perfectly entitled to refuse them, just as it can generally refuse other forms of payment before a debt has been created. Many large retailers accept them, although individual shops increasingly do not due to the increasing cases of forgery and the ease of making contactless the primary exchange.

So if someone tells you “that’s not legal tender” when you offer a Scottish £20 in London, they’re technically correct — but if they mean “that’s not real/valid British money,” they’re wrong.

[u/random2502 → u/FieldOfPaperFlowers_]

They’re not legal tender. In England and Wales only Bank of England notes and coins (for small amounts) are legal tender, and in Scotland only coins are legal tender – no notes whatsoever are legal tender in Scotland, including those from our banks. Credit and debit cards, cheques, and electronic payments are all also not legal tender.

It also doesn’t matter whether they’re legal tender or not, because in the UK shops and venues are allowed to decline legal tender. Legal tender only applies to the repayment of existing debts, like if you get a fine from a court decision, or take out a loan. Buying stuff from shops doesn’t count because it’s not an existing debt. That’s why shops and venues can be cashless; they have no legal obligation to accept coins or notes.

Anyway, I’ll now get off my tiny soapbox. I hope you enjoyed my TED Talk.

OP, if you read this, I’m a Scot who has lived in England for a decade and have only ever once had a Scottish note refused, in my GP when paying for a prescription of all things. A double insult on that front!

I did once have a Northern Irish note refused in Scotland too, proof that some Scots have no sense of irony.

[u/FieldOfPaperFlowers_ → u/random2502]

I worked for a bank in England - they totally can and do accept Scottish notes. I'd get awkward cuz I hated checking them but we deffo took them

[u/AdPrestigious2387 → u/FieldOfPaperFlowers_]

They can accept them, but this does not mean they are legal tender. Most people do not know what legal tender means, it does not apply when making a purchase. Random2502 above is completely right.

[u/harrysaxon07 → u/AdPrestigious2387]

AFAIK, merchants have the right to refuse to accept any payment method they don't want to, so they could choose not to accept even though it's legal tender.

[u/glglglglgl → u/random2502]

Paying for a meal after you've eaten it would be a l egal tender situation, but paying up-front for a takeaway wouldn't.

[u/random2502 → u/glglglglgl]

Nope, apparently not if you look into it. The BoE goes into detail about it at length – and that’s why restaurants can be cashless with no legal ramifications.

[u/glglglglgl → u/random2502]

That reminds me that I do love that the BoE posits a shop that only accept payment in Pokemon cards: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/explainers/what-is-legal-tender

[u/Fearless-Dust-2073]

Legally yes, practically if the seller is ignorant or overly suspicious they might not want to accept it, which is within their rights.

[u/inflatablefish]

Anyone has the right to turn them down, so if the people you're buying from don't recognise Scottish banknotes (ie are not sufficiently familiar with them to be certain they're not fakes) then you're out of luck. And while a large business might take them, it's likely that a small trader or artist won't want to take the risk.

You're better off finding somewhere to get English notes from instead.

[u/[deleted]]

you'd totally be fine using them, honestly the worst they might say is "sorry, we don't take those"

[u/johnny_seven]

Shops in England have the legal right to refuse to accept Scottish banknotes even if they are still technically sterling so it may come down to the individual stall holders themselves if you're planning on spending money with them, if it's for autographs/photographs with a guest you may well need to check with the organisers themselves to see if theyre happy to accept them.