Money and duty free for Channel Islands

Currency and Money

Currency information

The Channel Islands have their own notes – the Guernsey pound and the Jersey pound, both of which are at par with the UK pound. Pound Sterling (JEP; symbol £) = 100 pence. Notes are in denominations of £50, 20, 10 and 5. Coins are in denominations of £2, £1, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 pence.

Channel Islands notes and coins are not accepted in the UK, although they can be reconverted at parity in UK banks. Sark, Herm and Alderney use the Guernsey pound.

Credit cards

American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are all widely accepted.

ATM

On the main islands of Jersey and Guernsey ATMs are widespread and accessible, whilst on Alderney there are two ATMs.

There are no cash machines on Sark or Herm, so visitors are advised to withdraw money before travelling to the islands - Guernsey has a multitude of ATMs. Sark has a NatWest counter at Sark Post Office (tel: +44 1481 832 090; www.natwestinternational.com), which is open Mon-Fri 0900-1700 and Sat 0900-1200, and an HSBC (tel: +44 845 600 6161; www.hsbc.com), open Mon-Fri 1000-1500.

Travellers cheques

Accepted in larger establishments, although they are being used less and less. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take traveller's cheques in Pounds Sterling.

Banking hours

Mon-Fri 0930-1530. Some banks are open later on weekdays and Saturday mornings.

Currency restrictions

There are no restrictions on the import or export of local or foreign currency. However, amounts exceeding €10,000 or equivalent must be declared if travelling from or to a country outside the European Union.

Currency exchange

Foreign currencies can be exchanged at bureaux de change, in banks and at many hotels.

Channel Islands duty free

Overview

The Channel Islands are not part of the UK or the EU and are subject to different allowances. To complicate matters further there are duty free differences between the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey (which includes the islands of Alderney, Sark, Herm, Jethou and Lihou).

Duty-free allowances to Jersey
The following goods may be imported into the Bailiwick of Jersey by travellers over 17 years of age without incurring customs duty:
• 200 cigarettes or 250g of other tobacco products
• 1L of spirits
• 4L of wine
• 16L of beer or cider
• Other goods to a value of £390 (reduced to £270 if arriving by private plane or boat)

Alternatively, you may import more wine or beer if you don't bring in any spirits or tobacco. In this case, you may import 36L of table wine or 48 x 750ml bottles of wine or 110L of beer.

Duty-free allowances to Guernsey
The following goods may be imported into Bailiwick of Guernsey by travellers over 17 years of age without incurring customs duty:
• 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco
• 4L of still table wine
• 1L of spirits over 22% volume or 2L of fortified wine/sparkling wine/liqueurs (under 22% volume)
• 50L of beer of cider
• An unlimited value of other goods (if all duties of these goods have been paid in the UK or the EU) or goods to the value of £390 (if coming from a non-EU country; reduced to £270 if arriving by private plane or boat).

If you don't have spirits, liqueurs, fortified or sparkling wines, you can bring in the standard 4L of still table wine plus 4L extra, taking the total to 8L of still table wine.

Banned Imports

Prohibited and restricted goods include unlicensed drugs, offensive weapons, obscene or pornographic material, and counterfeit goods.