Global InformationBanknotes of Scotland information
Banknotes of Scotland are the banknotes of the pound sterling that are issued by three Scottish retail banks and in circulation in Scotland. The issuing of banknotes by retail banks in Scotland is subject to the Banking Act 2009, which repealed all earlier legislation under which banknote issuance was regulated, and the Scottish and Northern Ireland Banknote Regulations 2009.[1] Currently, three retail banks are allowed to print notes for circulation in Scotland: Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale Bank.
Scottish banknotes are unusual, first because they are issued by retail banks, not government central banks, and second, because they are not legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom. Scottish bank notes are not legal tender even in Scotland, where, in law, no banknotes, even those issued by the Bank of England, are defined as legal tender.[2][3] Formally, they are classified as promissory notes, and the law requires that the issuing banks hold a sum of Bank of England banknotes or gold equivalent to the total value of notes issued.[4]
The fact that the notes are not defined as legal tender means that they are not withdrawn from circulation in the same way as the Bank of England notes, which cease to be legal tender on a given date. Instead, the Scottish banks withdraw old notes from circulation as they are banked. Any notes still in circulation continue to be honoured by banks,[5] but retailers may refuse to accept older notes.[6]
- ^ "The Bank of England's approach to regulating Scottish and Northern Ireland commercial banknotes" (PDF). March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
- ^ "Legal Tender Guidelines". Royal Mint. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
- ^ "What is legal tender?". Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ "No. 58254". The London Gazette. 21 February 2007. p. 2544.
- ^ "What to do with Scottish Paper £5 notes". Committee of Scottish Bankers. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- ^ "Four-week deadline to use Scottish paper money". BBC News. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2018.