Is a £20 Sterling Bank of Ireland note legal tender in the UK?

It's not legal tender, it's a "promissory note". Effectively that difference means nothing - it can be spent throughout the UK IF the person you're trying to spend it with is willing to accept it, and there's the problem - most small businesses never see a Northern Irish note and won't accept one as they don't have the experience to recognise if it's genuine or not. Larger businesses like WH Smiths, and banks will take them OK.

And for those who think it's from the Republic, all Bank of Ireland notes very clearly say "Sterling", and "Belfast" on them. The Republic's notes before the Euro were issued by the Central Bank of Ireland / Banc Ceannais na h'Éireann, a completely different organisation.

It is not legal tender, but then that's not so much the issue as whether shops will accept it. (Did you know that 1p and 2p coins are not legal tender for amounts over 20p, even though the Royal Mint has produced them? Which rather illustrates Guru Hank's point!) It's certainly worth the same as a Bank of England £20 note. John G and birdman forget the fact that the Bank of Ireland also exists in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.

If you have trouble spending it in England, as can often be the case with notes issued by Scottish banks, take it to a bank and swap it for an English one. They know they can pass it through the banking system. Certainly my bank's paying-in slips, in the section where you itemise the notes and coins you're paying in, includes Scottish and Irish notes as a separate item on the list.

I have travelled to England for years to my nan's in Newcastle and when i joined the forces.
All Northern Ireland bank notes are legal tender, promissory note whichever you choose.,a list below.
Bankof Ireland
Northern Bank now Danske Bank
Ulster Bank
First Trust
AIB UK
For years we changed our notes to Bank of England notes to make it easy for us.
I am not being ignorant or disrespectful but a lot of my fellow English people do not and have never realized that our notes have the Queen's head on them and that it says sterling which makes them legal.
I was in a restaurant with my brother and i paid for the meal with a Northern Bank £20 note.The manager said it was not legal tender and i said it was.He called the police they took a look at the note and told the manager it is legal tender and he was breaking the law by not accepting it.On this occasion i did not have time to change my notes to Bank of England to avoid things like this happening.
Any notes from these banks are good and worth exactly the same as Bankof England.

In theory, yes, you should be able to spend it, as it is classed as £20 Sterling, but you might just find that some places are reluctant to accept it! Many places still refuse to take Bank of Scotland notes.

For those who think that Ireland uses the Euro; this is only in Southern Ireland.

Yes you can spend it
Yes it is worth the same as a Bank of England £20 note.

No, it is not legal tender. Legal tender is a technical legal term which is understood only by bankers and lawyers.



Feel free to ignore this fact and accept the opinions of the half wits who may contradict me. It won't affect the £20 in your pocket.

It must be old, Ireland uses the Euro and has done since 2002, you would need to take it to a UK bank, no UK shops would accept it..

No-Ireland uses the Euro. It isn't legal tender.

My local Tesco will not take them,or Scottish notes.

I tried

Anything with "Sterling" on it can officially be spent although some shops do refuse (along with Scottish notes) them, idk why!

IS BRITISH currency so can be used in the WHOLE UK....