London Currency Exchange and
International Payments

The best exchange rates can be found from commission free outlets in Central London. Check carefully in the West End around the areas of Edgware Road and Paddington. Always avoid tourist hotspots such as Covent Garden and Oxford Street where most bureau de changes offer terrible exchange rates due to high overheads and they love to take advantage of travellers. Make sure that you check the following as there can be some shady operators and do your due diligence:

1) Check that they are properly licenced as they must have a valid MSB certificate issued by HMRC

2) Any decent bureau de change will have bank accounts in order to run their business so they can use a multitude of trading lines. Check if they have bank accounts.

3) Check the exchange rate vs the interbank exchange rate to understand the true cost of the currency you are exchanging. The difference between the live interbank exchange rate and the bureau de change exchange rate will include margin and costs of the exchange so make sure you compare carefully!

London is the epicentre of banknote and currency exchange in Europe. Therefore, if you are looking to exchange major currencies such as US Dollars, Euros and Japanese Yen, then you are bound to get a fantastic exchange rate in London. If you are looking to buy minor currencies, then it is likely you will get the best value in London by starting your search online for currency exchange in London. A simple google search will provide you details of the most competitive currency providers in London and you can then check and compare before you exchange.

Please note that many currency exchanges in London buy up a lot of foreign currencies from tourist and travellers. Much of this is recycled via their branch network and therefore online currency providers are usually able to pass on these savings to their customers.

The best way to secure your currency is by opting to pay via click and collect. This way you can ensure that your currency is in stock before you go to collect.

It is almost impossible to avoid international ATM fees because these are usually charged by two parties. One is the local ATM in the county that you are in and secondly, the card issuer.

You can control the fees by your card issuer however you cannot control the international ATM operator fee unless you go on a hunt to find a free ATM for international cards which is becoming increasingly more difficult

What you can do is control the card issuer fees by selecting the right credit card. Prepaid cards, and specialist credit cards provide fee free FX loading fees and some starter banks in the UK do this to win customers.

Finally, there is always the option of taking travel money from a UK leading currency provider. Cash is still accepted worldwide. Compare the exchange rates online and use a click and collect service if you want access to the best exchange rates and collect in store.

The cheapest way is to take a specialist credit card or bank card that charges no loading fees for ATM withdrawals or FX loading fees. Always look for an ATM that is free to use for internationally issued credit cards or debit cards.

Secondly, learn how to avoid dynamic currency conversion and always opt to withdraw your currency in the foreign currency amount and not your local currency.

International ATM fees vary significantly from ATM to ATM. Some charge a percentage of the total amount whereas others charge a flat fee per withdrawal. In addition to this you can expect to pay a loading fee from your card issuer so its always best to check this with your card provider in advance of your travels. Some cards in total can charge in excess of 7% in total when you taken into account the transaction fees, FX loading fees and ATM withdrawal fees.

If you need foreign currency in cash, then a cheaper alternative is using an online currency specialist where the overall fee can be as low as 1.4%*

*price taken from the average difference between the interbank price and the client offer exchange rate on GBP/USD from Sterling FX on 28th February 2022.