Scottish Pounds and Euro Banks

I came across this post on social media and wondered if anyone has come up against this issue...

I personally have never done any banking in Europe other than withdrawing cash from the whole in the wall.

Is this a real policy he is speaking of?

did anyone know about this policy?

has anyone been affected?

Some African airlines used to refuse to accept Scottish pound notes when paying to get a pair of headphones for the inflight movie. Other airport shops would charge a "funny money" price because the exchange rate was slightly different - Bank of England would charge an additional "fee" to exchange Scottish money.

Being from Northern Ireland we have always had this problem, even to travel to our own mainland. We never could spend Northern Irish money in England or Scotland unless we changed it to bank of England notes, even though it's all pounds sterling.
Maybe it has been changed now, since I haven't been on the mainland for a while, but I still see family members doing the scramble for English notes.

It is more of a counterfeit precaution as far as I am aware.

a reply to: sierra25ni

It has always bugged me this, but its just another way people are 'milked' financially for the profit of yuet another group of hanger's on. Banks should automatically exchange money for its true value - yet their greed at being able to milk the world's publics with their own money - which they have paid tax on already gits right up my nose.

It would look like the London parliament was expecting to loose scotland at the recent referendum, damn shame the scots felt the wind iup their kilts and didn't go it alone IMHO but if you vote to stay with the delightful london parliament, then you get what happens by its capriciousness and milking policies, so there's no point in winging.

The reason is that the only legal tender currency in the UK is that issued from the Bank of England, but businesses generally accept the Scottish & Northern Irish notes because it is deemed a "legal currency" and approved by Parliament. Technically, Scotland has had no legal tender since 1707.

The UK economy gets along just fine with this arrangement. Although unfamiliarity in some smaller businesses may cause the odd frown at Scots/N.Irish currency. But beyond the UK the legal tender issue will cause problems. The people of the Channel Islands and Isle of Man have similar issues with their own currency on the UK mainland as well as abroad.

It has often puzzled me WHY Scotland ever had their own currency

while being part of the UK.

Wales as far as I am aware have never had a separate currency to that

of the UK

a reply to: eletheia

It's all to do with history of the British Isles. Although now in the 21st century you'd think this situation could be resolved for exchanging currencies easily. Bankers hey!

At present, the three Scottish banks which issue their own notes – the Bank of Scotland, first to do so from 1695, the Royal Bank of Scotland, which began printing notes soon after being founded in 1727, and the Clydesdale, from 1839 - have to back up every single note with a deposit to the same value in the Bank of England.

There were 306,646,555 individual Scottish notes in circulation last year, says the Committee of Scottish Bankers, worth some £3.8bn says the Bank of England.

While there may be no such thing as "legal tender" in the UK, there is such a thing as legal currency and there is a physical cash guarantee (underwritten, effectively, by Threadneedle Street) that a Scottish note is liquid and reliable. The Banking Act 2009 says so.

"Quote" www.theguardian.com...

a reply to: michael1888

Hm. I'm pretty sure Deutsche Bank accepts Scottish pound notes.
Sparkasse is not exactly the best bank to change money.
I know Reisebanken (near railroad stations in most bigger cities) definitely accept them.
Else your friend could mail his notes to the GFC. They even accept old currencies.

originally posted by: eletheia


It has often puzzled me WHY Scotland ever had their own currency

while being part of the UK.

Wales as far as I am aware have never had a separate currency to that

of the UK

Scotland has the right to print various amounts of currency (paper notes) with the amounts approved by the Treasury. This is allowed since the Bank of England was printing famous English figures on the currency, so Scotland and the other countries were given the right to do that as well.

Scottish and Northern Irish banknotes are usually accepted through the UK, unless the person you are dealing with (in the pub) is an ignoramus and unfamiliar wih the notes. Only once have I had a Scottish bank note refused, but was able to get it accepted eventually when the barman spoke to the landlord!

Abroad, Scottisn an NI notes may not be accepted because they just confuse people.

That's just the way of the world. I rather like the idea of having this arrangement, but accept that it is a British thing and am not fussed that foreign banks just get confused!

Regards

Someone in the picture uploaded by the OP replied saying they have no problem. Seems like a non-issue.

She is speaking of England, the post relates to Europe. The fact she had a problem in the U.K is also an issue if the unheard of policy is real.a reply to: OccamsRazor04

a reply to: michael1888

It's not unheard of though. People just don't understand. Maybe this link will help.

www.thestar.com...

yeah... not really the same though is it?
the o.p is more about the Brittish Govt issuing a secret order regarding Scottish money,
your link is in regard to a "toy".
I am asking more about not being able to deposit my countries cash in a bank when I could deposit another currency easily. Each Scottish pound is backed by a pound in the bank of England whether it is legal currency or not should not be an issue, it clearly states "pay the bearer on demand" a reply to: OccamsRazor04