50 pound notes !!

Moonpie2

Moonpie2

Moonpie2

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Joined
23 Dec 2002
Posts
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Location
Shiny Shanghai
So, I'm gonna be travelling back to England for Christmas, and wanted some cash in my pocket for when I arrived.

People told me to "go to the bank and get GBP there instead of a bureau de change because you'll get a better rate" so I did.
And the tools gave me a bunch of 50s.

In my mind this is just as useless as carrying no money because I feel no one will accept it.

Is this just one of those things that you hear and accept as fact?
Do places still regularly refuse 50s? Should I maybe see about changing the 50s for 20s (if I can)
Or is it actually not that bad and there's no fuss?

- Cheers
 
You've been had, we no longer use the £50 note.

In all seriousness, you'll be fine, the only places where I think you might have an issue is small corner shop type places. Everywhere else shouldn't be an issue.
 
When the "tools" handed you the fiddies did you not think to ask for a lower denomination?

Also, Revolut.
 
Fair enough. Grab yourself a free Revolut card for future trips, great for travelling. They charge a fiver for the card itself but they regularly have promos on the go which give out free cards, so it helps to keep an eye out.
 
Some places cdo refuse 50s, mainly smaller shops. 50s are very rarely used anywhere. I work in a large business where there's a lot of cash and we see a few 50s a year. 20s by the yard, but very rarely 50s. Most places will take them, but there will be some degree of fuss.

There are now a few businesses in the UK that refuse all cash entirely. Get robbed a few times, have a look at the records and find that only ~10% of your business is cash anyway, say "not worth it" and stop taking cash.
 
Given the devaluation fo the pound a 50 is worth a lot less than it used to be, their usage is increasing. Just make sure you don;t get left with any sterling when you go back to shanghai.
 
Shops accepting your fiddys should be the least of your concerns. Just make sure you travel with the bank statements showing the withdrawal and/or the receipt from the place you got the notes from.

Nowadays they have sniffer dogs for cash money. Anything over 1K and they can seize it immediately if you don't have a receipt/statements.

Anyone else watch Heathrow Airport episode last night poor woman just had a couple grand on her, apparrently a phone call to her mother proved she wasn't a prostitute or something lmao. It's just bizarre and just proves its a charade to end cash and create more layers between people and their money.
 
Ohhh it's nowhere near 1k :)
Only a few hundred quid.

I'm wondering if bureau de change will do like for like exchanges if I explain I'm scared of 50s? Hahah
Give them 2x50 and get 5x20 back?
Dunno?
Unlikely?
 
Just go into a bank and ask them to change them for you. I don’t believe any in the UK doesn’t have a few hundred quid in twenties.
 
Anyone know if the self service tills at places like Tesco or Sainsburys take them ? Could be a very easy way to get them changed to smaller notes. Buy a 50p bar of chocolate and pay with the £50 note ?
 
Diddums said:
Fair enough. Grab yourself a free Revolut card for future trips, great for travelling. They charge a fiver for the card itself but they regularly have promos on the go which give out free cards, so it helps to keep an eye out.
Click to expand...
Recently they didn't even charge for the card, I just had to deposit £10 into the account that I could immediately withdraw. I kept the money there due to an imminent holiday and received the card in the post a few days ago.
 
I once went to McDonalds ordered a medium quarter pounder meal and realised I had no change. Had to pay for it with a £50 note. Wasn't a problem.
 
Diddums said:
Also, Revolut.
Click to expand...
This.

Diddums said:
Fair enough. Grab yourself a free Revolut card for future trips, great for travelling. They charge a fiver for the card itself but they regularly have promos on the go which give out free cards, so it helps to keep an eye out.
Click to expand...
Apparently I can give out free ones as referral coming to Christmas so if anyone wants one, don't think I get back for it but will spread the revolut love.


What I find funny about the UK and the 50 is, in some ATMs over here the lowest amount you can get out is 200CHF. The one on the border that's the lowest, and the one at work lowest is 100CHF. And it's not like that's a tenner in the UK, it's like 80quid at the moment. I'd paid with stuff with 1000CHF note before, no one bats an eyelid.
 
I am sure any bank will swap them for you, or when you land in heathrow, pop into one of the shops in the airport and buy something.
 
randomshenans said:
What I find funny about the UK and the 50 is, in some ATMs over here the lowest amount you can get out is 200CHF. The one on the border that's the lowest, and the one at work lowest is 100CHF. And it's not like that's a tenner in the UK, it's like 80quid at the moment. I'd paid with stuff with 1000CHF note before, no one bats an eyelid.
Click to expand...

This thread just reminded me about the 500 Euro note they are stopping, due to it's main use being in crime :p

I had to google which note it was as I couldn't remember and came across this that just made me chuckle

In particular, Spain had a quarter of all these high-value bills within its borders in 2006. This concentration of €500 notes is far greater than expected for an economy of Spain's size, as prior to conversion to euro the largest banknote was 10,000 Spanish pesetas, worth €60.10. These notes are rarely seen in every-day commerce – they have been nicknamed "Bin Ladens" by the populace (as the presence and appearance of the notes are well-known, but the notes themselves are very difficult to find).British and Spanish police are using the bills to track money laundering
Click to expand...

:D
 
Moonpie2 said:
Ohhh it's nowhere near 1k
Only a few hundred quid.

I'm wondering if bureau de change will do like for like exchanges if I explain I'm scared of 50s? Hahah
Give them 2x50 and get 5x20 back?
Dunno?
Unlikely?
Click to expand...

Give them to OCUK in exchange for some shiney hardware. Sorted.
 
Coming from China you will be shocked that we don't take WeChat as payment I bet. Contactless/Apple Pay/Android Pay is pretty common and most places take it now with no minimum spend limit.

(I put most in italics as no doubt someone will point out their corner shop doesn't...save you the trouble)
 
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