GBP British Pound
Buy and sell British Pounds in Sydney
Pound sterling in cash from our counter at Suite 202A, Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000 - buy before the UK trip or sell back after it, at live rates with 0% commission, Monday to Friday 9:30am to 5pm.
How to get your pounds
Rate, counter, cash - three steps and no appointment.
Check today's GBP exchange rate
Our calculator quotes sterling in both directions: how many pounds your Australian dollars buy today, and what we pay in A$ for pounds you bring home.
Visit our store
Take the lift to Suite 202A, Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000, four minutes from Wynyard station, or phone (02) 8014 4222 first and we will set your pounds aside.
Get your cash
Notes are counted out where you can see them and settled immediately - and when you are home, unspent pounds sell at the same counter.
Key information about the British pound
The notes and coins, who issues them, and where sterling spends.
The pound sterling is the currency of the United Kingdom and among the oldest currencies still in everyday use. The Bank of England issues the notes that circulate in England and Wales, a pound divides into 100 pence, and sterling remains one of the world's major reserve and trading currencies, held by central banks and dealt around the clock.
Every Bank of England note is now polymer: £5, £10, £20 and £50, with Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III portraits circulating side by side since June 2024. The paper £20 and £50 were withdrawn in September 2022 and shops no longer take them. Scottish and Northern Irish banks print their own pounds, which English tills may hesitate over.
If you are buying British pounds in Sydney before a trip, sterling is one of the 22 currencies traded over our York Street counter. Bring photo ID and walk in, or ring ahead to reserve the notes you want ready for collection. When you land back home, any pounds you did not spend sell at the live buy-back rate above.
British Pound details
- Currency
- British Pound
- Code
- GBP
- Symbol
- £
- Subunit
- 100 pence
- Central bank
- Bank of England
British Pound in use
- Banknotes
- £5, £10, £20, £50 - all polymer, with Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III portraits both current (the paper £20 and £50 were withdrawn in September 2022)
- Coins
- 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, £2
- Used in
- The United Kingdom - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Also used
- Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena issue local pounds fixed at par with sterling, and Bank of England notes circulate alongside them
Ask for £10s and £20s. The £50 is legal tender, but small shops, market stalls and taxis often will not break one - and spend any Scottish or Northern Irish notes you are given before heading back into England.
Today's pound exchange rate in Sydney
The AUD to GBP rate at our York Street counter, live, both directions: the rate at which we sell pound notes, and the rate at which we buy them back. The figures below are worked out from the rate the calculator shows right now.
Buying pounds in Sydney
A$1 = £0.5188
Hand over A$, walk out with sterling.
- 0% commission - the rate on the board is the price, with no fee or margin added afterwards
- Settle up in cash - we are not set up for card payments at the moment
- Ask for £10s and £20s - tills, taxis and market stalls handle them without a pause, while a £50 is often refused
Selling pounds back in Sydney
£1 = A$1.8741
Sterling in, Australian dollars out, same visit.
- Once the count is agreed you are paid in Australian dollars straight away
- Bring clean, intact notes - a torn, taped or badly marked pound note may be turned away
- Only the polymer notes are current: the paper £20 and £50 stopped being accepted in shops in September 2022
Counter rates move with the market through the day. The time stamped on the calculator is the time these figures were set, and the rate confirmed at the counter when you exchange is the one you get - no other number applies.
What things cost in the United Kingdom
Roughly London prices - Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff run cheaper, summer pushes everything up, and the big national museums are free to enter.
UK travel money tips
One big rule for paying in Britain, and three smaller ones.
Tap almost everywhere, carry small notes anyway
Britain is a tap-to-pay country. Contactless cards and phones cover the Tube, buses, supermarkets and most cafes, and a growing number of shops now take cards only. Cash still matters at market stalls, village pubs, taxis outside London, tip jars and B&Bs, so carry a modest float of £10s and £20s and treat the £50 as a note to break at a bank, not a bakery.
Things to see in the United Kingdom
Four nations on one pound - and a few notes in your pocket cover the bus to the castle, the cream tea and the market stall the card reader missed.
Why exchange pounds with us
Whether you are stocking up on sterling before the flight or turning leftover notes back into A$, one registered Sydney CBD counter handles both at a live rate.
0% commission, no fees on top
Our AUD to GBP rate carries 0% commission and no handling or service charge behind it. The pounds the calculator shows for your A$ are the pounds counted out to you - not a penny less.
Live, timestamped counter rates
Both pound rates on this page - the one you buy at and the one we pay when you sell back - are set at the counter through the trading day, and each carries the time it was last updated.
Registered, reviewed, guaranteed
AUSTRAC registered (ABN 18 675 798 302), rated by 59 Google reviewers so far, and every exchange is backed by our written Best Price Guarantee.
Rated on Google by 59 customers
Every one of these was left on our Google profile by someone who came up to Level 2. We cannot edit them or take them down.
"Nice attention, customer service and good rate"
"Great people. Great rates. Great location. Sunil is the best."
"Thanks sunil. Great service and great rates"
"Pretty good rates, the place is clean and comfortable to wait in."
See what customers across Sydney say about our rates and service.
Read them all on Googlearrow_forwardCommon questions about British pounds
Anything else? Phone (02) 8014 4222 on a weekday and ask the counter directly.
It is in the calculator at the top of this page, refreshed through the trading day and shown both ways: the rate for buying pound notes and the rate we pay when you sell them back. Sterling moves with the market, so the figure confirmed at the counter when you exchange is the one that stands.
From our counter at Suite 202A, Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000, in the Sydney CBD - roughly four minutes on foot from Wynyard station. We are open Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 5pm, no appointment is needed, and you should bring photo ID. To have the pounds waiting, call (02) 8014 4222 before you come in.
Look at the conversion table further up this page: it prices A$1,000, along with the other common amounts, at the counter's live rate and moves with the calculator during the day. Because sterling shifts constantly, treat the table as today's guide and the rate confirmed at the counter as the final figure.
No. Buying or selling, the pound rate agreed at the counter is the complete price: 0% commission, no service fee and no handling charge added afterwards. If the calculator says your A$ buy a certain number of pounds, that is the number you are handed.
Sterling is a major currency among the 22 currencies on our board, so on a normal weekday you can simply walk in. For a large amount, or if you want particular denominations, phone (02) 8014 4222 first so it can be confirmed and put aside - and remember that £10,000 or more in cash has to be declared when you arrive in Great Britain.
Mostly £10s and £20s, with a few £5s for coffees, tips and small purchases. The £50 is legal tender but many small shops, market stalls and taxi drivers will not break one, so keep large notes to a minimum. Whatever the denomination, the notes should be polymer - the old paper £20 and £50 stopped being accepted in shops in September 2022.
Yes, at the same counter and at the live buy-back rate in the calculator. Bring notes in good, resaleable condition - torn, taped, heavily marked or water-damaged pounds may be declined, because every note we take in has to be passed on to the next customer.
Usually, but not always. Notes from the Scottish and Northern Irish banks are legal currency across the United Kingdom, yet they are not legal tender anywhere - not even in Scotland - so an English shop is within its rights to refuse one, and some do. Spend them in the country that issued them, and avoid carrying them home: outside the UK they are much harder to exchange than Bank of England notes.
Yes. Bring current photo identification. Currency exchange is a regulated service under Australia's AML/CTF laws, and identification is required for certain transactions whether you are buying pounds or selling them back, so have it ready when you reach the counter.
Need a different currency?
Sterling is one of 22 currencies we trade - the full rate board lists today's buy and sell rate for every one of them.
