Currency Converter — Live Exchange Rates

Exchange rates fluctuate constantly based on economic conditions, central bank policies and market sentiment. The mid-market rate, the midpoint between the buy and sell prices on the interbank market, is the fairest benchmark and the rate at which banks deal with each other. Banks and bureaux de change add a margin on top, typically 2-5% for retail customers. The market itself runs from 22:00 GMT on Sunday to 22:00 GMT on Friday, and spreads widen at weekends when trading stops.

This converter uses mid-market rates to show you the true value of your conversion. When comparing providers, always check the total cost including both the exchange rate margin and any fixed transaction fees, because a provider with a better rate but higher fees may cost more overall. Change £1,000 into euros at a mid-market rate of 1.17 and you receive €1,170, whereas a bank taking a 3% margin quotes 1.135 and hands over €1,135, a difference of €35 or roughly £30.

Everyone pays something above mid-market, and the size of the gap depends on the channel. Wise and Revolut typically charge 0.3% to 1%, a UK debit card 2% to 3%, a high-street bureau de change 3% to 5%, and an airport currency desk anywhere from 5% to 12%. Standard UK debit cards abroad add a non-sterling transaction fee of 2.75% to 2.99% plus an ATM operator fee of 1% to 3%, while credit cards add 2.99% for non-sterling use and a further 3% cash advance fee, with interest running from day one.

For travel, prepaid cards from Wise, Revolut or Caxton lock in a rate and sidestep ATM fees abroad. Among current accounts, Chase charges no fees abroad, Starling is fee-free, and Monzo lifts its withdrawal cap on the Plus tier. Wherever you pay, choose the local currency at the terminal and refuse Dynamic Currency Conversion, which quietly adds 5% to 12%. A multi-currency card is worth holding if you travel often, since the Wise debit card carries 40 or more currencies at once.

For large transfers such as property purchases abroad, specialist currency brokers often offer rates much closer to the mid-market rate than high-street banks. On anything from £10k upwards, brokers such as CurrencyFair or OFX commonly work at 0.4% to 0.6% against the 2% to 3% a bank would take. Forward contracts let you lock in a rate for a future date, which can be useful for planned purchases. At the investment end the margins shrink further, with Interactive Brokers quoting around 0.002% spread on trades above $20k, while SIPP providers including AJ Bell and II charge 1% to 1.5%, a serious sum on a six-figure pension transfer.

Tax treatment depends on why you hold the currency. Foreign notes bought for holiday spending are exempt from Capital Gains Tax. Currency held as an investment, in a foreign savings account or foreign bonds, is not, and gains above the £3,000 annual exempt amount for 2026/27 attract CGT at 18% or 24% depending on your band. Crypto-to-stablecoin trades count as a disposal each time. Businesses run forex gains and losses through the profit and loss account instead. An ISA cannot hold foreign currency directly, though it can hold US or EU shares, with conversion happening at the point of trade.

Sterling's movements come from a handful of forces. The Bank of England base rate relative to the Fed and ECB matters most, since a higher UK rate tends to strengthen the pound, followed by the UK inflation differential against trading partners and the chronic current account deficit. Political events move it faster than any of those, with the 2016 Brexit vote knocking about 15% off and the Truss mini-budget costing 8% within days in September 2022. Commodity prices matter only weakly, through a loose link to the oil price. The long arc points downwards against the dollar, from $4.03 in 1947 to $2.40 in 1971, a low of $1.05 in September 2022 and about $1.27 in 2026. Sterling has free-floated since leaving the ERM in 1992.