The
UK use the pound, not the Euro as many people think. We are
part of the EU, but not part of the European Monetary Union. We
work in pounds and pence. 1 pound is divided up into 100 pence.
You will find the following coins and notes in circulation:
1p coin
2p coin
5p coin
10p coin
20p coin
50p coin
£1.00 coin
£2.00 coin
£5.00 note
£10.00 note
£20.00 note
£50.00 note
You may also find that you are given a different kind
of note. Scotland has their own notes, and often you will be
given Scottish £5.00 notes in your change. Don't worry;
they are still valid in England.
Banks are located everywhere
in London. Most of them are open Monday-Friday 9.30am-5.00pm and some
are open on Saturday morning. All
banks are closed on Sundays. Opening a bank account
As the majority of our students are only here for a short period
of time we are not going to focus on this, but this information might
help you if you are here for a longer period. Unless you are
here for a whole year it is unlikely, and also quite difficult to
set up a bank account. You would normally need proof of having
lived in the UK for a certain period of time. You cannot open
an account before you arrive in the UK.
If you do want to open a bank account then you will need to take
the following along with you;
- Proof of your residency in the U K
- Proof of your identity (normally a passport)
- Proof of your address in the UK (this will need to be an official
letter or document)
- Proof of your address in your home country
- Some kind of reference from your bank in your home country
- Information on your sources of income, such as a letter from
your employers, or some kind of proof that your parents or university
are funding your stay
- Proof of your student status
Changing currency
Travellers cheques
When you arrive in London, you might be carrying traveller's cheques.
Keep these in a secure place and never cash them all at once. We advise
you to keep a track of the numbers in a safe place so that if they
are lost or stolen it is easy to see which ones you have used. They
cannot be cashed without your passport, so do not keep them together.
All of our apartments have safes or lockers that you can use to store
things securely.
Travellers cheques can be cashed at many places, for a small fee.
If you have American Express Travellers cheques can be cashed at Amex
bureaus free of charge. For a list of the bureaux in London
please see here.
Currency
You will often see, located along main roads, Bureau de Change
offices. Please check the exchange rate before you use them. Some of
them, although not all, will offer very poor rates of exchange. Many
of them do not charge commission, although sometimes in the long run,
depending on the rate you get you might be better off going elsewhere.
Many of the high street banks, including Barclays www.barclays.co.uk offer
a commission free currency exchange service. This would probably
be your best option, other than ATM machines in order to obtain the
best rate of exchange. The Post Office also offers a commission
free currency exchange service, but many people have reported that
the rate obtained can be lower than that of the banks. It is
always a good idea just to check.
ATM machines
Most American ATM/bank cards/credit cards will also work
in the UK. However, always notify your bank before you begin using
your cards, so that the transactions you make are not flagged as "suspicious
activity." If banks notice that someone in another country is making
withdrawals from your account, they often assume your cards have been
stolen and may cancel them to prevent fraud. Also, ensure that your
PIN consists of a 4-digit number. If your PIN is 5 or more digits or
a combination of letters, ask the bank to change it, as some ATMs only
accept 4 digits and most keypads are not alphanumerical. You
should make sure you know your PIN before you travel, as it is often
required both in shops, and to withdraw money ATM machines can be found everywhere in the UK. Increasingly
they are found in hotels, shops and nightclubs/bars. However,
if you are planning to use one of these machines please be aware that
you may incur high costs as they do charge commission fees.
Machines should always tell you if you are going to be charged for the
transaction but in many cases it has been found that the machines are
badly labelled. The banks do not charge you any kind of transaction
fee, so the only fee you will incur is the one that your bank back home
charges.
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