The best option is to bring some cash, so you have enough for the first few weeks whilst you organise everything. We found ourselves in this situation when we first moved to London. If you need to exchange a large amount of currency, maybe because you are planning to move to the UK or you are going to spend some time here, then you don’t want to pay high fees or poor exchange rates.

Exchanging large amounts of foreign currency This way, you will likely get a better exchange rate. If there is no other option, then I would try to pre-order via their website and choose to collect, rather than walking up to the currency exchange office directly. Options to exchange currency at the airport are very limited, so you don’t have much choice, and they usually offer the worst rates possible as well as high commission fees. They may apply a management fee which may not be clearly explained. In our experience, the average cost of exchanging currency in some European Banks (when we used to live abroad and needed to buy Pounds) would have cost us around 40 Euros more than exchanging once in London.īanks usually charge a commission, which can be a fixed amount or a percentage of the total currency exchanged, or their exchange rate benefits them rather than the customer. If you wish to buy British Pounds at your regular before you travel to the UK, check their exchange rates first and make sure you understand what fees they will charge you.

Exchange Houses in London: Directions and Opening Hours The website Travelmoney will also help you compare exchange rates. In most cases, this needs to be done on the same day you are planning to collect the money, and you will usually receive more pounds for your money than if you went directly to the establishment. But you can get even better exchange rates from these offices when you pre-book currency exchange online through their website (Buy Back option on their website menu). They are known for offering the best exchange rates if you visit them in person. Thomas Exchange and Covent Garden FX are two of the best exchange offices that I´m aware of in London. For this reason, it may be best to use a debit card (check your bank’s T&Cs for any fees) or cash to buy currency. This means your bank will most likely charge you a transaction fee and have interest added. One thing to remember is that paying a UK bureau for currency using a credit card is usually treated as a cash withdrawal. Therefore, exchanging currency and buying British Pounds in London may be one of the most profitable options from an economic point of view, as exchange offices in central London compete to offer the best deals. As there are so many, they compete with each other, so it´s easy to check their exchange rates as you walk past and choose the best one. If you go to the Tottenham Court side of Oxford Street in London or walk around London´s main train stations, such as Paddington, Victoria, and Liverpool Street, you will see loads. There are certain areas of London where there are a large number of exchange houses, also called Bureau de Change.

This can be a fixed amount, a percentage of the total amount you need to exchange, or both. Commission: Banks and other currency exchange entities usually charge a commission on any currency exchange.

If you are travelling to the UK, it’s a good idea to check the exchange rate daily to plan when to exchange your money so you get more pounds for your money. During the day, exchange rates between different currencies fluctuate.

The exchange rate refers to the number of pounds you will get for each euro, American dollar or other home currency.

There are two key factors we need to consider when exchanging currency: Factors to consider when buying British Pounds There are £5, £10, £20, and £50 notes, and 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 25p, 50p, £1 and £2 coins.ĭuring March and April 2023, the average exchange rate was 1 Euro = 0.87 British Pounds and 1 USD = 0.81 British Pounds. The official currency of the United Kingdom is the Pound Sterling. 7.2 Revolut Account and Multi-Currency Travel Cards British Pound Sterling: United Kingdom´s official currency

London uk currency exchange