Larger Denomination Bills?

[Kenswing]

Getting ready for our British Isles cruise. I'll need to have both Euros and GBP.

 

We'll be doing only private tours in the various ports and most of the tour operators only accept cash as payment.

 

So my question is.. Are larger denomination bills generally available and accepted? I'd rather carry fewer large notes than a big wad of smaller ones.

[sddsddean]

I've never had a problem with any Euro notes when travelling on the continent. Generally speaking, UK firms don't like £50 notes (don't really know why...they just don't!), but £20's and £10's are fine.

 

Simon

Edited March 27, 2016 by sddsddean

[jennjess]

Most places will not accept notes larger than 100 euros.

[LondonTowner]

Many places in Europe will not accept 100 notes either. I suggest you don't take notes larger than 50 Euros.

 

In the UK large stores, particularly in London will accept £50, but better to have lower denominations.

[Enforcer]

Hi,

 

The £50 note is a rare thing nowadays as it has been said a lot of shopkeepers don't like it. The reason for this is that several years ago there were lots of counterfeit £50 notes about that were very good ones and many shopkeepers got stung.

£5 £10 and £20 are accepted anywhere, if you have any going spare you can always send them to me :):):)

 

Pete

[flamomo]

Hi,

 

The £50 note is a rare thing nowadays as it has been said a lot of shopkeepers don't like it. The reason for this is that several years ago there were lots of counterfeit £50 notes about that were very good ones and many shopkeepers got stung.

£5 £10 and £20 are accepted anywhere, if you have any going spare you can always send them to me :):):)

 

Pete

 

Hmmm .... I had no problem getting 50 pound notes when my bank ordered currency for me recently, so I hope when I am in Great Britain I won't have problem with them being accepted in shops and restaurants. Of course, I also got the smaller denomination bills too, but got several of the 50s to cut down on the bulkiness in my wallet.

[lisiamc]

Hmmm .... I had no problem getting 50 pound notes when my bank ordered currency for me recently, so I hope when I am in Great Britain I won't have problem with them being accepted in shops and restaurants. Of course, I also got the smaller denomination bills too, but got several of the 50s to cut down on the bulkiness in my wallet.

 

It's been many years since I've seen a £50 note. If you run into difficulties using them, I would think a bank would change them for you.

[LondonTowner]

Use the large notes for payment in places like hotels or department stores.

[orchestrapal]

Hmmm .... I had no problem getting 50 pound notes when my bank ordered currency for me recently, so I hope when I am in Great Britain I won't have problem with them being accepted in shops and restaurants. Of course, I also got the smaller denomination bills too, but got several of the 50s to cut down on the bulkiness in my wallet.

 

Visit number forty to London coming up. We have never had a problem changing or paying with £50's although we prefer € 20's and £10's.

[Kenswing]

Thanks for all the great replies everyone.. I guess I'll carry a mixed bag.. Larger bills to pay the tour operators, I mean what are they going to do, not take me on a tour because I gave them a fifty? And smaller bills for spending around town..

[FreestyleNovice]

In addition to what others posted: some smaller vendors and/or tour guides/operators don't carry enough change for the larger bills. Besides counterfeit change is another cause. :)

[Enforcer]

Hi,

 

Please don't be offended if you see the vendor using a pen to mark to note or putting it under an ultra violet light, they are just security devices to make sure that the notes are real. It isn't any reflection on yourself.

 

I would strongly suggest that if you have any £50 notes you change them into smaller ones at a bank as soon as you can. I would hate to think that someone turned up for a tour paying with a £50 note only to be refused because it is company policy not to accept them.

 

Pete

[Hatters cruiser]

Thanks for all the great replies everyone.. I guess I'll carry a mixed bag.. Larger bills to pay the tour operators, I mean what are they going to do, not take me on a tour because I gave them a fifty? And smaller bills for spending around town..

 

Unfortunately it is possible that your fifty may be refused, as others have already said.

 

There are shops local to me that will refuse a fifty pound note for their goods and services.

[flamomo]

Unfortunately it is possible that your fifty may be refused, as others have already said.

 

There are shops local to me that will refuse a fifty pound note for their goods and services.

 

I wish I would have known this BEFORE I ordered my foreign currency!!!!

[Hatters cruiser]

I wish I would have known this BEFORE I ordered my foreign currency!!!!

 

If you have any problems find a high street bank, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest and Barclays are some of the biggest and ask if they will break your £50 notes into smaller denominations.

 

Although it does vary depending on what you are paying for, for a large food bill then paying part of that with a £50 is normally fine, but a smaller transaction may it be a problem.

Edited March 29, 2016 by Hatters cruiser

[LondonTowner]

Can't say I have ever had a £50 note ever refused, but I wouldn't offer to pay with one for anything less than, say, £30.

[DaBook]

I wish I would have known this BEFORE I ordered my foreign currency!!!!

 

Me too!! What about just getting the Passenger Services Desk to give you change? I have done that with USD on every cruise.

[insanemagnet]

There are shops local to me that will refuse a fifty pound note for their goods and services.

 

If you think that is bad, try paying for something with a bank note issued by a Northern Ireland bank, especially Danske Bank and see how far you get.

[Hatters cruiser]

b

If you think that is bad, try paying for something with a bank note issued by a Northern Ireland bank, especially Danske Bank and see how far you get.

 

I have Scottish relatives they have had similar problems, with Clydesdale bank notes.

[LondonTowner]

The problem is not with the bank notes, but with the untrained shop staff. For example they accept Scottish notes without blinking an eyelid in the Marble Arch branch if Marks and Spencer, but try using it in a branch in a small town in Cornwall. They will eventually accept it but will probably made a fuss about it.

[flamomo]

Unfortunately for me, all of my tours in the places where GBPs are the currency are ship's excursions so I would not be able to just bop off on my own to try to find a bank to break a couple of 50 pound notes.

 

MAYBE I will be able to break at least one by purchasing something at Marks and Spencer at the mall near the port on turnaround day in Southampton. OR MAYBE there will be a bank in the same general area as that M&S where I can do it.

[flamomo]

Me too!! What about just getting the Passenger Services Desk to give you change? I have done that with USD on every cruise.

 

 

That might depend on the cruiseline you are traveling with.

 

Princess will break USD, no problem, but I don't know if they will have GBPs, especially since we're on that ship's transatlantic crossing from FLL and the subsequent BI cruise, which means they may not have any GBPs, having just arrived in England. Plus I don't know if they will stock some once we are there.

[LondonTowner]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Banks are everywhere in British towns. I am sure there will be no problem in spending or breaking down £50 notes in the shopping mall in Southampton.

[Hatters cruiser]

The problem is not with the bank notes, but with the untrained shop staff. For example they accept Scottish notes without blinking an eyelid in the Marble Arch branch if Marks and Spencer, but try using it in a branch in a small town in Cornwall. They will eventually accept it but will probably made a fuss about it.

 

Whatever the cause it amounts to the same thing, a difficulty in passing some notes in some circumstances in some shops. Yes larger stores in big cities will accept them without question, smaller branches of big chains in smaller towns will probably also do so to but some small local shops will refuse them outright.

For those of us who are used to it, it is an annoyance but to someone visiting for a short time it may cause unexpected problems.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Hatters cruiser

[dsrdsrdsr]

The problem is not with the bank notes, but with the untrained shop staff. For example they accept Scottish notes without blinking an eyelid in the Marble Arch branch if Marks and Spencer, but try using it in a branch in a small town in Cornwall. They will eventually accept it but will probably made a fuss about it.

 

While it's literally true that the staff are untrained, it would be unfair to take that as a criticism. There are 8 different banks issuing notes in the UK, 7 of which are rarely seen in England - training the staff to recognise 28 or so different notes that they are rarely likely to see, would be a disproportionate expense.