Travel Money and Currency Exchange

An exchange rate tells you how much of one currency you receive for another. Buying and selling rates can differ.

Example only, not a live quote: if £1 buys €1.15, £100 buys €115 before charges.

A £5 fee deducted from the £100 before conversion leaves £95 to exchange, giving €109.25.

Check the final amount before confirming. This guide does not show live rates or predict the best time to buy.

Compare providers’ final quotes and collection or delivery arrangements. Check when the money will arrive and what identification is required. Allow extra time for less common currencies.

Take only what you need and store cash securely. Keep receipts for any later query.

Check your own card’s foreign spending and withdrawal charges before travelling, plus any interest on cash withdrawals. An ATM operator may add its own fee. Repeated small withdrawals can multiply fixed charges.

Check acceptance, spending limits and any travel-notification requirements with your bank. Keep its emergency contact details accessible and have another way to pay where possible.

This is an example card-provider explanation, not an endorsement or a guarantee of your own card’s fees. Check your account’s current terms.

When offered a choice abroad, paying in the local currency usually avoids the shop or cash machine setting its own conversion rate. This is called dynamic currency conversion.

Read the screen carefully and check your own card fees; choosing local currency does not remove those fees. Decline the machine’s conversion if you want your card provider to do it, while checking any separate ATM fee.

Compare loading, conversion, spending, cash withdrawal, inactivity and closure fees, plus limits and refund terms. Check how unused money can be withdrawn and how funds are protected.

“Travel card” is not a guarantee that every transaction is free.

Compare the total pounds you pay with the amount the recipient receives, delivery time and any receiving-bank or intermediary charges.

Confirm the recipient’s name, bank details and any required IBAN or SWIFT/BIC directly with them. Read cancellation and error procedures before sending.

For a UK non-bank international payment provider, check the FCA Financial Services Register for the legal business and the permission relevant to the service. Match its contact details to avoid impersonators.

Cash-only currency exchange and payment services have different regulatory arrangements: do not assume every bureau de change is FCA-authorised.

Money with an e-money or payment firm is not protected in the same way as an eligible bank deposit. Safeguarding is different from FSCS deposit protection, and arrangements differ by firm type. Read the FCA guide before leaving a large balance.

Do not send money because someone pressures you or promises a guaranteed currency-trading profit. Verify unexpected payment requests through a contact method you already trust.

If money or card details may have been stolen, contact your bank/payment provider immediately using its official app or verified number.

If a transfer goes wrong, contact the provider promptly and keep confirmations and correspondence. Use its complaint process and check whether the Financial Ombudsman Service can consider that firm and service.