A DUBAI bureau de change has raised eyebrows by offering different exchange rates for the pound sterling and the “Scottish pound.”
A photo of a screen at Dubai Airport, taken on December 18, shows a currency exchange service which values the pound sterling higher than the “Scottish pound.”
The bureau offers to buy the pound sterling for 4.31300 United Arab Emirates dirham but will buy the “Scottish pound” for just 4.30200 dirham.
The board also states that the exchange service sells the “Scottish pound” for 4.60300 dirham and the sterling for 4.85600.
Back in 2014, a board in Dubai airport went viral online after advertising the “Scottish pound” separately to the pound sterling in the lead up to the independence referendum, but the currencies were listed at the same price.
Although Scottish banknotes appear different to English banknotes, the currency in Scotland is not different from the rest of the United Kingdom in that it is also consists of British Pounds.
The British Bankers’ Association said the rates on the board should not be listed differently.
A spokesman said: “The ‘Scottish pound’ is the GBP so they should not be listed differently nor should they have different exchange rates.”
But online, several social media users seemed to think that the different rates made sense, and said that the lower price for the Scots currency reflected its perceived “usefulness”.
One user wrote: “At least they accept them. Problem is they can’t easily sell them on, unless to Scots returning home, as has been endlessly discussed on here, other countries aren’t likely to accept them due to them not turning up often. So they have send them back to the UK at a cost.”
Another said: “Nothing unfair about it – it just reflects their perceived usefulness of the note in a place where they have no means to convert them.”
One added: “It’s not very fair I guess, but it’s up to them. Not much we can do except always try to take BoE notes overseas.”
The issue with Scottish and English banknotes has recently caused controversy back in the UK.
Last month, a McDonald’s customer went viral after filming himself arguing with a member of staff who refused to accept a Scottish five pound note.
McDonald’s later claimed the note had failed to pass through a machine which checks genuine bank notes.
But the Scot said staff had never suggested the note was counterfeit.
