Money Number 1!

[iagra]

Sorry this might seem to sound like a stupid first-time tourist question, but I have never considered taking GBP in cash abroad before. (Have used TC and more usually ATM in the past.)
This time, for various reasons, I want to bring upwards of 1K GBP in banknotes, though most of my transactions will be done via ATM.
My question is - and I may simply be living in past memories of stuff I used to read in the popular press - are Scottish banknotes acceptable in Thailand?
(For example, I have just checked in my wallet and I currently have 75 quid to my name - 20 Clydesdale Bank, 40 Bank of Scotland, 15 Royal Bank of Scotland.)
I certainly don’t want to bring £1000+ in Scottish notes - or even more - and get told “Clydesdale not country” at a Thai bank. And I’m not too sure that I can specifically order Bank of England notes at my particular bank, even though it’s called Nationwide.
Supplementary Question: I have looked on this board and others for stuff about opening a Thai Bank account, but am still none the wiser. Can you or can’t you open a Thai bank account on a Tourist Visa? (Mine is a 3-entry, though on this occasion I am only staying for 5 months, which is still 3 more than I’ve ever done before.)
Final one (for now): If I do bring GBP banknotes, would 50s be as easily exchangeable as 20s - the last few thousand times I checked my wallet I have never seen a 50 pound note yet!
Thanks for any help on this….

[Spitfire]

My question is - and I may simply be living in past memories of stuff I used to read in the popular press - are Scottish banknotes acceptable in Thailand?

IMO, no, I've heard of lots of people that have had problems with this, the Thais, rightly or wrongly, view Scotish money and "Monopoly money". Thing is that the note, even though tenable, isn't in their book of examples in the bank which they will keenly look though, don't go there, asking for problems.

I certainly don’t want to bring £1000+ in Scottish notes - or even more

That's a really, really bad idea IMO.

and get told “Clydesdale not country” at a Thai bank.

That's the answer you'll get dude, quite right.

Usually you can open an account but you will need to go to the local HQ bank branch and enquire there, might be anally retentive though.

50 pound notes might also confuse them as they are not common, even in the UK, and might well send them running to the photo album check list again. 20 pound notes are easy to do.

The above is just a pointer for an easy life as nothing is easy here, especially stuff like what you are asking. Good luck.

[Jim]

I would agree. The advice to bring cash is a good one, though actually the rates for travellers cheques can be even better at times, in my experience. But definitely not Scottish money. English twenties is what you need.

The bank account question is a difficult one. As with most things in Thailand, it appears to depend on who you see at which branch on which day. Some people on here will tell you that its impossible without address books, work permits etc (as thats what happened to them), others will say that its no problem. My experience was that I went to the bank with a (falang) friend who also banked there and had the account open in 10 minutes. Its lucky dip time.

[STEVE G]

I would try to get some Bank of England notes as this is what the Commitee of Scottish Clearing Banks has to say:


The legal position with regard to Scottish Banknotes is as follows:

Scottish Banknotes are legal currency – i.e. they are approved by the UK Parliament. However, Scottish Bank notes are not Legal Tender, not even in Scotland. In fact, no banknote whatsoever (including Bank of England notes!) qualifies for the term 'legal tender' north of the border and the Scottish economy seems to manage without that legal protection.

HM Treasury is responsible for defining which notes have ‘legal tender’ status within the United Kingdom and the following extract from Bank of England’s website may help to clarify what is meant by “legal tender” and how little practical meaning the phrase has in everyday transactions.
“The term legal tender does not in itself govern the acceptability of banknotes in transactions. Whether or not notes have legal tender status, their acceptability as a means of payment is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved. Legal tender has a very narrow technical meaning in relation to the settlement of debt. If a debtor pays in legal tender the exact amount he owes under the terms of a contract, he has good defence in law if he is subsequently sued for non-payment of the debt. In ordinary everyday transactions, the term ‘legal tender’ has very little practical application.”
(Ref. www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/about/faqs.htm.)

It is also interesting to note that, if the strict rules governing legal tender were to be observed in a transaction, then the exact amount due would need to be tendered since no change can be demanded.

The majority of banknotes circulating in Scotland are issued by Scottish banks. Scottish notes circulate and are accepted quite freely in Scotland and, for the most part, they are also readily accepted in England & Wales, although branches of Scottish banks there may not issue them. However, you should not rely absolutely on Scottish notes being accepted outside Scotland and this is particularly true when travelling abroad. Our general advice would be not to carry large amounts of banknotes of any description and to make use of facilities such as travellers’ cheques, credit/debit cards and ATM cards for access to funds whilst abroad.
http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/legal_position.php

[Big Boy]

I would agree. The advice to bring cash is a good one, though actually the rates for travellers cheques can be even better at times, in my experience. But definitely not Scottish money. English twenties is what you need.

Personally, I prefer travellers cheques, but Mrs BB's preference is £20 notes. Not only does she insist on English notes, she also insists on the latest version. Both she and her daughter reckon that they've experienced problems exchanging the old style English notes.

[caller]

And make sure any notes are fresh and not torn in any way, they will be rejected.

[BaaBaa.]

Legal Tender

1 Minute into THIS vid.

[STEVE G]

Legal Tender

1 Minute into THIS vid. :mrgreen:

The crazy thing is I was in a bar here in Somerset last week and a Scotsman said exactly that and now I've found out that it isn't even legal tender in Scotland.
I can't wait for the next time!

[Pagey]

Iagra : You want to bring notes which you will then exchange for Thai Baht ? You bank with Nationwide ? Nationwide have free ATM withdrawals abroad so why not bank your money in Scotland and withdraw the Baht everyday for free with no risk of losing large sums of cash or having it stolen ? Just a suggestion..................

As for opening a bank account Kasikorn will let you open an account with just your passport, no need for an address or long term visa. Cash card supplied for ATM withdrawals.

[mr lonely]

Nationwide now charge for ATM withdrawals, this is in addition to local charges by banks for withdrawals using a foreign card

[Marky_Mark]

Hi iagra
I opened a bank account at SCB (Siam Commercial Bank) in September this year on a tourist visa. It was a Sunday so the only banks open were those in Market Village, I took the TGF with me, she produced her Thai ID card and they opened a bank account for me right there and then. Took all of 10 minutes complete with an ATM card and Bank Book.. The ATM card is called a "HIP CARD" and has the "MasterCard" logo on it so its a Debit Card... even selected my PIN number at the branch as they give you the card immediately.
I simply transfer funds from here in Australia to my Thai bank account when the rate is good and use that money while im in Thailand. I chose SCB as it has good internet banking on their website scb.co.th

This may be an option for you if you have a TGF or Friend in Hua Hin who's address you can use. In other words take enough cash to last you 10 days or so, open a bank account upon arrival, then jump on the internet and transfer funds into your thai bank account, wait the 2-3 days for the funds to hit the Thai account and walk to the ATM and draw it out...however you must have the following two things to do the transfer... Number 2) must be done prior to leaving the UK

1) Have international funds transfer set up on your scottish internet banking (So you can transfer Pounds not Baht, much better exchange rate this way)

2) Get the swift code when opening your Thai bank account as you will need this to transfer funds from your scottish bank account to your thai bank account.

Hope this helps and kinda makes sense

Mark

[Wanderlust]

Marky Mark,
I'm pretty sure that UK banks do not allow international transfers via their online banking, and that it has to be done in person at a branch; certainly I have never been able to find a way of doing it with my bank (Barclays). I'm not saying 100% it can't be done though so worth someone else investigating, but I think it would go against all their efforts to eliminate money laundering.

[Nereus]

Marky Mark,
I'm pretty sure that UK banks do not allow international transfers via their online banking, and that it has to be done in person at a branch; certainly I have never been able to find a way of doing it with my bank (Barclays). I'm not saying 100% it can't be done though so worth someone else investigating, but I think it would go against all their efforts to eliminate money laundering.

In Australia it has to be set up in conjunction with your Mobile Phone number. They SMS a code that your have to respond too before you can complete the transfer.

[lindosfan1]

Wanderlust
I am with Lloyds, all I do is ring them up and they will transfer the money, never had a problem, the advantage is you canm transfer sterling which gets you a better exchange rate. My account in Thailand is with SCB. there is a limit of £5000 per transaction.

[STEVE G]

I also use Lloyds and although I've never tried to carry out an international transfer over the phone, I've done it many times by letter with no problem and I imagine a fax would work as well.