Money and Paying for Things

England is fast on its way to becoming a cashless society. If you do want cash (and it’s always nice to have a little on hand), there’s no need to get it in advance. You can just use an ATM. They have them at the airport when you arrive and everywhere really. The last time I visited, a colleague was getting cash so I decided to get 50 pounds as well. I literally forgot it was in my wallet and ended up using it to buy food and souvenirs at the airport. So what’s the best way to pay?

Apple Pay

You can now pay for almost anything with Apple Pay in England. Just make sure it’s set up on your phone first. All you have to do is hover your phone over the card reader and use whatever sign-in method you have (face ID, fingerprint, etc.). They used to allow a maximum purchase of 30 pounds, but I believe that has been lifted.

Credit Card

If you have a “contactless” card (newer credit cards only), you can simply tap your credit card on the reader, and the payment will go through. I’m not actually sure how to know if your card is contactless other than testing it. No big deal if it isn’t…you just insert it at the chip end like at home.

Foreign currency fees – The key with credit cards is to check in advance about foreign currency fees, as many credit card companies will charge you for every transaction. We use a Capital One Mastercard because they have no service fees. I believe American Express is the same, but do your research.

Notification of international travel – Also, we used to have to contact our credit card company to let them know we’d be out of the country. We don’t anymore, but I do still hear of people getting their cards shut down – fairly easily rectified but still a major nuisance when your card is declined while you’re trying to buy that incredible pair of boots you just found. It doesn’t hurt to give them a quick call before you go.

Currency Conversion Rates

The pound has been weak for a while now, with the value being about 1.3 pounds per US dollar for quite some time. An easy way to roughly calculate the price of something is to divide by half and then add that back to the total. I do it this way regardless of the conversion rate…close enough.