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Best places to exchange currency in Sydney

Where to get the best deal on Australian dollars.

Tim Falk

Updated Nov 18, 2019

If you’re looking to exchange foreign currency in Sydney, you’re spoiled for choice. As Australia’s largest city, Sydney has lots of exchange services to choose from – but it’s a good idea to shop around to make sure you’re getting good value for your money.

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Where to exchange money in Sydney

1. Travelex

Travelex has several branches in the Sydney, with locations at Town Hall, Martin Place, in the Queen Victoria Building and at Haymarket. It also offers branches at locations like North Sydney and Bondi Junction, as well as currency exchange ATMs at Sydney Airport and a host of other city locations.

Opening hours vary between stores – while the QVB location is open seven days a week, many other stores are only open during business hours. Travelex allows customers to get a better exchange rate by ordering currency online and picking it up in store. It also offers prepaid cards for international travelers.

2. Travel Money Oz

Travel Money Oz has 29 locations in the Sydney area, including several in the heart of the city. Central business district (CBD) locations include two locations on George Street and one on Pitt Street.

You can order currency online or visit your nearest store, with stores open seven days a week. Travel Money Oz also offers a prepaid travel money card that can be loaded with up to 10 currencies.

3. Unimoni Australia

If you want to exchange currency in and around the Sydney CBD, Unimoni has locations at Wynyard, Market City Shopping Centre and Westfield Sydney. Several suburban locations are also available, and all Unimoni branches allow you to buy and sell more than 60 currencies.

Unimoni also offers a prepaid travel money Mastercard, which can be loaded with up to 11 currencies, and an online international money transfer platform.

4. Lotus Foreign Exchange

Lotus Foreign Exchange is a currency exchange service with locations in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. It has locations in Pitt Street and Darling Harbour, along with suburban branches in places like Parramatta, Liverpool, Hurstville and Blacktown.

All branches are open seven days a week and provide access to more than 35 currencies.

5. WeXchange

WeXchange allows customers to order foreign currency online and then pick it up in store. You can buy and sell more than 40 currencies, with its Sydney branches found at Haymarket and Town Hall.

The Haymarket branch is open seven days, but the Town Hall location is only open Monday to Friday.

Tips for getting the best deal when exchanging money

Remember these tips to get the best value for your money when exchanging currency:

Check the mid-market rate. Use Google or a currency conversion site like XE to check the current mid-market exchange rate. You can then use this to work out how much of a markup the service is charging on the currency you want to buy.
Watch for hidden fees. Check what fees apply to your transaction. Even if a provider claims to offer no-fee exchanges, remember that they will add a hidden margin to the exchange rate.
Don’t exchange money at the airport. Airport foreign exchange booths have a monopoly on the market, so they tend to charge higher fees and offer lower exchange rates.
Don’t use an ATM. While using your card to withdraw money from a foreign ATM is a quick and convenient method, it also attracts high fees and poor exchange rates.
Avoid paying with a credit or debit card. If you buy a currency using a credit or debit card, your card provider might slug you with a hefty cash advance fee.
Shop online. Before heading to an exchange provider, do some online research to find the providers that are currently offering the best rates.

Read our complete guide to exchanging currency

Compare money transfer services

Looking for an international transfer service rather than a currency exchange service? Enter your transfer amount and currency into the calculator below to see how much your transaction will cost with a range of leading transfer providers.

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Min. Transfer Amount	Transfer Speed	Online Transfer Fee	Rate	Amount Received	Description	CTA	Details
USD 1,000	1 day	USD 0.00	1.513	AUD 7,565	No-maximum limit transfers with competitive exchange rates for 100+ currencies.	Go to site	Compare	Show details	Details Minimum transfer amount USD 1,000.00 Transfer methods Online, Phone, Bank Account to Bank Account Transfer options Regular payments, One off payments, Market orders, Forward contracts Customer service Phone, Email Available currencies AED, AUD, AZN, BGN, BND, CAD, CHF, CZK, DKK, EGP, EUR, FJD, GBP, HKD, HUF, IDR, ILS, INR, JPY, KRW, KWD, LKR, MAD, MGA, MXN, MYR, NOK, NZD, OMR, PEN, PGK, PHP, PKR, PLN, RUB, SAR, SBD, SCR, SEK, SGD, THB, TOP, TRY, TWD, TZS, USD, VEF, VND, VUV, WST, XOF, XPF, ZAR Go to site Read the full review
GBP 1,000	1 - 2 days	USD 0.00	1.513	AUD 7,565	Exclusive: Minimum transfer of $1,000 for Finder readers (normally $5,000). For larger transfers, get no transaction fees and no maximum send limits.	Go to site	Compare	Show details	Details Minimum transfer amount GBP 1,000.00 Transfer methods Online, Bank Account to Bank Account Transfer options Regular payments, One off payments, Market orders, Forward contracts Customer service Phone, Chat Available currencies AED, AFN, ALL, AMD, ARS, AUD, AZN, BDT, BGN, BHD, BIF, BMD, BOB, BRL, BWP, CAD, CDF, CHF, CLP, CNY, COP, CRC, CZK, DJF, DKK, DOP, DZD, EGP, ETB, EUR, FJD, GBP, GEL, GHS, GNF, GTQ, HKD, HNL, HRK, HTG, HUF, IDR, ILS, INR, ISK, JMD, JOD, JPY, KES, KRW, KWD, KZT, LBP, LKR, LSL, MAD, MDL, MGA, MKD, MUR, MWK, MXN, MYR, MZN, NAD, NGN, NIO, NOK, NPR, NZD, OMR, PEN, PGK, PHP, PKR, PLN, PYG, QAR, RON, RSD, RUB, RWF, SAR, SEK, SGD, SLL, THB, TND, TRY, TTD, TWD, TZS, UAH, UGX, USD, UYU, UZS, VND, WST, XAF, XCD, XOF, XPF, ZAR, ZMW Go to site Read the full review
USD 1	1 - 2 days	USD 0.00	1.521	AUD 7,607	Offering no maximum and no minimum limit transfers with $0 fees.	Go to site	Compare	Show details	Details Minimum transfer amount USD 1.00 Transfer methods Online, Phone, Bank Account to Bank Account Transfer options One off payments, Market orders, Forward contracts Customer service Phone, Email Available currencies AED, AMD, AUD, BAM, BBD, BDT, BGN, BHD, BND, BRL, BWP, CAD, CHF, CLP, CNY, COP, CRC, CVE, CZK, DKK, DOP, EUR, FJD, GBP, GEL, GHS, GTQ, HKD, HNL, HRK, HUF, IDR, ILS, INR, JMD, JOD, JPY, KES, KRW, KWD, KZT, LKR, LSL, MAD, MKD, MUR, MWK, MXN, MYR, NAD, NGN, NOK, NZD, OMR, PEN, PGK, PHP, PKR, PLN, PYG, QAR, RON, RSD, RUB, RWF, SAR, SBD, SCR, SEK, SGD, SZL, THB, TND, TOP, TRY, TTD, TWD, TZS, UGX, USD, VUV, WST, XCD, XPF, ZAR Go to site Read the full review
USD 2,000	1 day	USD 0.00	1.513	AUD 7,565	$0 transfer fees with rates at never more than a 2% markup.	Go to site	Compare	Show details	Details Minimum transfer amount USD 2,000.00 Transfer methods Online, Phone Transfer options Regular payments, One off payments, Market orders, Forward contracts Customer service Phone, Email, Branch Available currencies AED, AUD, CAD, CHF, DKK, EGP, EUR, GBP, HKD, ILS, JPY, NOK, NZD, SEK, SGD, THB, TRY, USD, ZAR Go to site Read the full review
USD 0	1 - 2 days	N/A	N/A	N/A	Special offers like free transfers and better exchange rates available for new customers. Quick, affordable transfers around the world with both express and economy options.	Go to site	Compare	Show details	Details Minimum transfer amount USD 0.00 Transfer methods Online, Bank Account to Bank Account, Cash Transfer Transfer options N/A Customer service Phone, Chat, Email Available currencies ARS, BDT, BGN, BOB, BRL, CLP, COP, CRC, CZK, DOP, EGP, ETB, EUR, GHS, GTQ, HNL, HRK, HTG, HUF, IDR, INR, JMD, KES, KRW, LKR, MAD, MXN, MYR, NGN, NIO, NPR, PEN, PHP, PKR, PLN, PYG, RON, RWF, THB, TND, TRY, UGX, USD, UYU, VND, XOF, ZAR Go to site Read the full review
USD 1	1 - 2 days	USD 45.00	1.528	AUD 7,572	Enjoy high maximum transfers into more than 20 currencies while saving up to 90% over local banks.	Go to site	Compare	Show details	Details Minimum transfer amount USD 1.00 Transfer methods Online Transfer options Regular payments, One off payments Customer service Phone, Chat, Email Available currencies AED, ARS, AUD, BDT, BGN, BRL, BWP, CAD, CHF, CLP, CNY, COP, CRC, CZK, DKK, EGP, EUR, GBP, GEL, GHS, HKD, HRK, HUF, IDR, ILS, INR, JPY, KES, KRW, LKR, MAD, MXN, MYR, NGN, NOK, NPR, NZD, PEN, PHP, PKR, PLN, RON, RUB, SEK, SGD, THB, TRY, TZS, UAH, UGX, USD, UYU, VND, XOF, ZAR, ZMW Go to site Read the full review
USD 1	Within an hour	USD 3.99	1.522	AUD 7,603	Use promo code 3FREE to send your first 3 transfers with no fee. Send to 110+ countries for bank-to-bank deposit, cash pickup or mobile top-up.	Go to site	Compare	Show details	Details Minimum transfer amount USD 1.00 Transfer methods Online, Bank Account to Bank Account, Cash Transfer Transfer options One off payments Customer service Phone, Email Available currencies AED, ALL, AMD, AOA, ARS, AUD, BAM, BBD, BDT, BGN, BHD, BIF, BOB, BRL, BWP, CAD, CDF, CHF, CLP, CNY, COP, CRC, CVE, CZK, DKK, DOP, EGP, ETB, EUR, FJD, GBP, GEL, GHS, GMD, GNF, GTQ, HKD, HNL, HRK, HTG, HUF, IDR, ILS, INR, ISK, JMD, JOD, KES, KGS, KHR, KMF, KRW, KWD, KYD, KZT, LAK, LBP, LKR, LRD, LSL, MAD, MDL, MGA, MRO, MUR, MVR, MWK, MXN, MYR, MZN, NAD, NGN, NIO, NOK, NPR, NZD, OMR, PAB, PEN, PHP, PKR, PLN, PYG, RON, RUB, RWF, SCR, SEK, SGD, SLL, SOS, SRD, THB, TJS, TND, TOP, TRY, TZS, UAH, UGX, USD, UYU, VND, WST, XAF, XCD, XOF, ZAR, ZMW, BYN Go to site Read the full review

Compare up to 4 providers

Disclaimer: Exchange rates change often. Confirm the total cost with the provider before transferring money.

Bottom line

If you’re heading to Sydney and need some Aussie cash, research exchange rates ahead of time and wait until you’re out of the airport for the best deal. And if your cash needs to make it to Sydney safely without you, compare money transfer providers to get the best deal.

Image source: Getty Images

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Tim Falk

Tim Falk is a freelance writer for Finder, writing across a diverse range of topics. Over the course of his 15-year writing career, Tim has reported on everything from travel and personal finance to pets and TV soap operas. When he’s not staring at his computer, you can usually find him exploring the great outdoors.

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Best places to exchange currency in Sydney