Larger Denomination Bills?

[flamomo]

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.

 

 

Thank you for recognizing my reason for concern.

 

I prefer not to have a glitch related to the currency of a part of the world I am visiting if I decide I want to have a bit of lunch or purchase something relatively inexpensive, such as a souvenir.

[insanemagnet]

I prefer not to have a glitch related to the currency of a part of the world I am visiting if I decide I want to have a bit of lunch or purchase something relatively inexpensive, such as a souvenir.

 

Personally I find card payments generally remove these obstacles.

[celle]

Last year, i found that some supermarkets were still checking 50-pound notes carefully before accepting them.

[flamomo]

Personally I find card payments generally remove these obstacles.

 

I prefer not to have to use a credit card for smaller purchases .... such as those under 20 pounds. That's why I got foreign currency to use!!

[FritzG]

I prefer not to have to use a credit card for smaller purchases .... such as those under 20 pounds. That's why I got foreign currency to use!!

 

In addition there are some kiosks/street vendors etc. where I don't feel comfortable using a credit card. We've had a card # stolen on at least 3 trips to the UK.

Edited March 31, 2016 by FritzG

[insanemagnet]

I prefer not to have to use a credit card for smaller purchases .... such as those under 20 pounds. That's why I got foreign currency to use!!

Fair enough, your choice.

 

For low value transactions for a few pounds, contactless card payments have had a massive impact. For example, go into a coffee or sandwich shop in London, and you will rarely see any cash change hands.

[Globaliser]

For low value transactions for a few pounds, contactless card payments have had a massive impact. For example, go into a coffee or sandwich shop in London, and you will rarely see any cash change hands.

And many shops themselves are encouraging this, because they prefer not to take more cash than they have to, and contactless is making card payments much faster then cash.

 

The ease of using contactless plus the change in culture means that I find that I'm now paying for anything more than about £2 with a card whenever possible, and often also for even smaller transactions (sometimes less than 50p).

[lisiamc]

And many shops themselves are encouraging this, because they prefer not to take more cash than they have to, and contactless is making card payments much faster then cash.

 

The ease of using contactless plus the change in culture means that I find that I'm now paying for anything more than about £2 with a card whenever possible, and often also for even smaller transactions (sometimes less than 50p).

 

The contactless card has made many things so much easier, like using the Tube. We're a fair distance from London and live part of the year in Italy, so I don't often use the Tube. An Oyster card was unnecessary effort for me, but now I can use my debit card and it's great. I don't carry much cash at all these days.

[insanemagnet]

The contactless card has made many things so much easier, like using the Tube.

 

Absolutely, when travelling in London, contactless has virtually eliminated the need for Oyster or the need to buy paper Travelcards, and Uber has removed the need for cash for taxis.

 

All of which is of huge benefit to occasional users.

[mrobstad]

im on the same cruise and doing private tours as well. yet, im pretty unsure how much of each denomination to bring....

[travelling pair]

Our Canadian chip and pin Visa card and our ATM cards are the kind that we can just tap to use.. Does anyone know if the Canadian issued contact less cards are accepted on the Tube, buses and stores?

[newport dave]

Our Canadian chip and pin Visa card and our ATM cards are the kind that we can just tap to use.. Does anyone know if the Canadian issued contact less cards are accepted on the Tube, buses and stores?

 

Your cards should be fine in shops, ours (UK issued) worked fine in Canada a couple of years ago. Not sure about the tube, see link below. Doesn't really help, but as some info. You could always just try your card at a barrier, if it lets you through then you know it works. If it doesn't, then you'll need to get an Oyster card or Travelcard. But, your card should then work in the ticket machine.

 

https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless/what-are-contactless-payment-cards#outside

[lisiamc]

I'm pretty sure that if your card will work for a contactless purchase in a shop, it will also work for the Tube barriers. A low risk strategy would be to try it for something small like a chocolate bar first.

[travelling pair]

Thanks so much for the info on using our Cdn. cards.

[UKBayern]

I'm surprised nobody has addressed the issue of walking around with large amounts of cash. I think that is very iffy security-wise. Gangs do wait in airports and in large hotels for tourists who have just arrived and are not savvy of their surroundings yet. Get a proper ATM card, and take money out on the trip as you go. Tour guides know where ATMs are in their town, in this day and age I think it is a very very strange requirement that they only accept cash. We went on a private tour in Egypt many years ago, and the tour guide asked "who need to go to a bank, who wants to pay with creditcard?"

[Cotswold Eagle]

Gangs do wait in airports and in large hotels for tourists who have just arrived and are not savvy of their surroundings yet.

 

Clearly all major cities have a pickpocket and street crime issue to a greater or lesser degree, but I'd be interested in the evidence behind this rather alarmist statement. Particularly about airports in the current security climate.

[Kenswing]

I wear a money belt inside my pants.. If someone wants to rob me they'll have to go digging. Depending on who it is it might be worth the cost.. :p

[Cotswold Eagle]

I wear a money belt inside my pants.. If someone wants to rob me they'll have to go digging. Depending on who it is it might be worth the cost.. :p

 

And if you are using the British or American meaning of 'pants' :eek: