Dollars accepted in United Kingdom?

[wowzz]

I think it is important to stress how many places will not accept AmEx cards both in the UK and Europe as a whole.

[orchestrapal]

My credit card that has no foreign transaction fees has no chip. I was told by them that the info can be entered manually. I hope they are right as my other card is an Amex with 2.7% foreign transaction fee (although does give cash back - 2% in restaurants so ultimately only .7% fee).

 

Get another card card Master or Visa with a chip. Most cards are free for the first year and can be cancelled after your trip if you decide you no longer want it,

All cards in Britain and Europe have had chips for years.

[ducklite]

Agree in difficulty using an AmEx. Of course larger hotels and department stores gladly accept them, but many smaller places do not.

 

Also forget trying to use Discover. It would be all but useless in most of the world outside North America--And is pretty useless in many places there as well. Diners Club is another to proceed with caution on.

Edited April 9, 2015 by ducklite

[Globaliser]

I think it is important to stress how many places will not accept AmEx cards both in the UK and Europe as a whole.

As far as London is concerned, I think it is important not to over-exaggerate this issue.

 

My two primary cards are both Amex (which one I use depends on the mileage-earning state of play at any particular time). I have a Mastercard as my secondary card. My Mastercard is usually used for transactions like paying my council tax, park-by-text, and my flat's service charge. It's rare that I have to put as many as a dozen day-to-day shop transactions onto the Mastercard each month, compared to almost a hundred each month on Amex.

 

I actually find much the same elsewhere in the UK, but most of my time is in London so I wouldn't want to be categorical about the rest of the country.

[MATHA531]

USAA still issues a true MasterCard PIN and chip card.

 

No they don't anymore. They did at one time but in April 2014, changed to the same as most US banks claiming to issue "true" chip and pin cards. The USAA cards being issued today default to chip and signature but will fall back to chip and pin in those cases where a particular terminal does not process chip and signature cards.

 

At this point in time, the only US based bank issuing a true chip and pin card is UNFCU. Period. Other banks claim to be chip and pin cards but they default to chip and signature and may work in kiosks and the like as chip and pin cards.

 

In the United States, the only merchant currently processing emv chipped cards is Walmart. To check to see if your card is primarily chip and signature or chip and pin, go into a Walmart. Buy anything you want. Go to the cashier and insert the card at the bottom of the terminal. If it's a true chip and pin card, you should be prompted for a pin no matter how small the purchase. You will find, however, that unless you use the UNFCU card which will prompt for a pin, your card will either not request any verification whatsoever for purchases under $50 or a signature for purchases above although many of the chip and signature cards, at least in my case, have not requested either a pin or signature for amounts of up to $100 at Walmart.

 

Incidentally, when the UK adopted chip and pin card, at the insistence of several groups for the handicapped, provisions had to be made for those unable to enter a pin due to a handicapping condition (no being from the USA is not one of them). The solution in the UK was chip and signature. Thus you will have almost no problems in the UK with using a chip and signature card.

 

For a complete 725 page discussion on why the USA has chosen, mostly at the urging of Visa go to Flyer Talk and a thread on emv cards.

[Shogun]

Hi All

Is NFC used by any credit cards. (CONTACT LESS)

 

Y

Yours Shogun

[LHT28]

Hi All

Is NFC used by any credit cards. (CONTACT LESS)

 

Y

Yours Shogun

 

We have paypass or wave

you tap your CC on the card reader at the shop

is that what you mean?

Edited April 10, 2015 by LHT28

[newport dave]

We have paypass or wave

you tap your CC on the card reader at the shop

is that what you mean?

 

Yes

[kerryincork]

I live in Cobh and recently I've seen signs In local shops that they will accept dollars at the moment

[cougaraz]

I live in Cobh and recently I've seen signs In local shops that they will accept dollars at the moment

Not a big surprise given the dollar's strength against the Euro and continuing Greece debacle.

[ducklite]

Not a big surprise given the dollar's strength against the Euro and continuing Greece debacle.

 

 

Considering the UK uses the pound, I'm not sure what bearing the Euro has on this.

[cougaraz]

Considering the UK uses the pound, I'm not sure what bearing the Euro has on this.

Much as many may wish it otherwise, Ireland is not in the UK and Cobh is in Ireland, thus they use the Euro, not the pound.

[kerryincork]

Which is often part of British Isles itinerary (cobh) that is ;-)

[dickinson]

We just came back from our cruise (loved it!) and saw only a small amount of places here or there that said they accepted us $. I would be hesitant to pay in that because there may be a high markup because they might have to convert it to their currency.

[scottbee]

We just came back from our cruise (loved it!) and saw only a small amount of places here or there that said they accepted us $. I would be hesitant to pay in that because there may be a high markup because they might have to convert it to their currency.

 

Might? The US$ is not legal tender anywhere in Europe, they will have to convert it.

[ducklite]

Much as many may wish it otherwise, Ireland is not in the UK and Cobh is in Ireland, thus they use the Euro, not the pound.

 

 

I don't know where it is as I haven't been there, but this thread is about US currency in the UK, so what currency is or is not accepted in Cobh is irrelevant.

[cougaraz]

Might? The US$ is not legal tender anywhere in Europe, they will have to convert it.

Legal tender and effective for commerce are not the same thing, weakening currency often results in black marketing where foreign money is freely exchanged for goods and services, a Grexit would likely precipitate such in the Euro zone for the dollar and pound.

[cougaraz]

I don't know where it is as I haven't been there, but this thread is about US currency in the UK, so what currency is or is not accepted in Cobh is irrelevant.

Read the original post!

 

She specifically asks about Ireland and Euros as well.

[2ashevillesailors]

We're going on a British Isles cruise in May, which includes Ireland, Scotland, England , Orkney, Guernsey, and one stop in France. Do we have to get euros and pounds or will shops, pubs, etc., accept American dollars? Thanks!

 

You need to get Euros and pounds. We purchase some of both to have as soon as we get to the airport. We then get the currency from an ATM machine. We feel it is the best exchange rate. We have not been charged by the ATM, but get charged $5 from our bank.

[2ashevillesailors]

I don't know where it is as I haven't been there, but this thread is about US currency in the UK, so what currency is or is not accepted in Cobh is irrelevant.

 

The British Pound is used in the UK.

[ducklite]

The British Pound is used in the UK.

 

 

Did I say otherwise? Of course it is.

[MATHA531]

Why bother? In both the UK and the Republic of Ireland, credit cards are widely accepted. They write the charge up in their currency (euro or sterling depending on whether you're in Ireland or the UK), your bank converts it at the most favourable rate (but check with your bank and try to get a card, and many do exist, which has no foreign transaction fees, and watch out for those merchants who tell you they are doing you a favor and converting local charges to your currency (almost always at a miserable rate) and you will have few problems. When a merchant, in any country, takes any currency other than the local currency, almost certainly the merchant is giving you a lousy rate of exchange.

[roysmith99]

Dollars will not be accepted anywhere in Great Britain unless you want to get ripped off. Euros may be accepted but don't count on it.

 

.

Edited May 26, 2015 by roysmith99

[sailing canary]

And if you do attempt to use US$ , don't be surprised if you get a less-than friendly response:)

[Bob++]

And if you do attempt to use US$ , don't be surprised if you get a less-than friendly response:)

 

I don't agree with that. Offer Dollars and you will nearly always get a polite refusal. Maybe a market trader would be rude, more likely they would make a joke of it, but the places that a tourist is likely to go will probably be used to it.