HKD Hong Kong Dollar
Buy and sell Hong Kong Dollars in Sydney
Walk up to Suite 202A on Level 2 at 60 York Street, NSW 2000, for Hong Kong dollar notes at a live rate with 0% commission, then sell the unspent ones back here - open Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 5pm.
How to get your Hong Kong dollars
Rate, counter, cash - nothing to open, nothing to book, nothing added.
Check today's HKD exchange rate
Set the calculator to Hong Kong dollars and it prices both sides of the trip - the HK$ your A$ buy, and the A$ waiting for HK$ you bring back.
Visit our store
Take the lift to Suite 202A, Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000 - Wynyard is four minutes away - or reserve by phone on (02) 8014 4222 so the notes are counted before you arrive.
Get your cash
Counted where you can see it and paid out immediately - and the HK$ left after the trip sell back at this counter.
Key information about the Hong Kong dollar
Four issuers, one peg, and the notes a visitor will actually be handed.
Hong Kong's dollar is unusual: most of its notes are issued by commercial banks. HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China (Hong Kong) each issue HK$20 to HK$1,000, while the Hong Kong Monetary Authority issues the HK$10 note and the coins. A dollar holds 100 cents and has been tied to the US dollar since 1983, within HK$7.75 to HK$7.85.
Expect the 2018 series: HK$20 blue, HK$50 green, HK$100 red, HK$500 brown and HK$1,000 gold, with vertical scenes on the back - dim sum, butterflies, Cantonese opera, the Geopark, the skyline. The 2003 and 2010 series remain legal tender and still circulate, but plenty of small shops, stalls and taxi drivers turn away a HK$1,000 note whatever its age.
Hong Kong is a stopover as often as a destination, so many people buying Hong Kong dollars in Sydney want a modest float; it is one of the 22 currencies we quote. Photo ID at the counter is all it takes, a call beforehand reserves your notes, and whatever comes home sells at the live buy-back rate above.
Hong Kong Dollar details
- Currency
- Hong Kong Dollar
- Code
- HKD
- Symbol
- HK$ (written $ locally)
- Subunit
- 100 cents
- Central bank
- Hong Kong Monetary Authority, with three note-issuing banks
Hong Kong Dollar in use
- Banknotes
- HK$10, HK$20, HK$50, HK$100, HK$500, HK$1,000 (the HK$10 is a polymer note from the HKMA; the others come from HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China in the 2018 series, with the 2003 and 2010 series still legal tender)
- Coins
- 10c, 20c, 50c, HK$1, HK$2, HK$5, HK$10
- Used in
- Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
- Also used
- Macau, where shops take Hong Kong dollars one-for-one with the pataca (itself pegged at MOP1.03 to HK$1) and hand back change in patacas; not legal tender across the border in Shenzhen
Hong Kong has a HK$10 coin and a purple HK$10 polymer note side by side, and each higher value carries three different fronts, one per issuing bank - identify a note by its colour and printed figure, not its picture.
Today's HKD exchange rate in Sydney
One AUD to HKD rate for buying and one for selling back, both live from our York Street counter: the tables under each heading multiply out the rate the calculator is showing at this moment, so they move as it moves.
Buying Hong Kong dollars in Sydney
A$1 = HK$5.3890
Hand over A$, walk out with HK$ notes.
- The rate is the price in full - 0% commission, no handling fee, no surprise at the till
- Only cash is taken at the counter at the moment, so come with Australian dollars in hand
- Ask for HK$100s and HK$500s rather than HK$1,000s - the big gold note is refused by many small shops, market stalls and taxis
Selling Hong Kong dollars back in Sydney
HK$1 = A$0.1801
Unspent HK$ turned back into A$, over the counter.
- You agree the count and the Australian dollars are paid to you immediately, before you leave the counter
- Notes should be whole and clean; a torn, taped or heavily creased Hong Kong dollar note may not be accepted
- Whether HSBC, Standard Chartered or Bank of China printed them, and whether 2003, 2010 or 2018 series, Hong Kong dollar notes remain legal tender in Hong Kong
Counter rates change with the market during the trading day. The time printed beside the calculator is when these tables were last repriced, and the figure the counter confirms as you exchange - not an earlier screen - is the one you receive.
What things cost in Hong Kong
Central and Tsim Sha Tsui prices to size a float. Sham Shui Po and the New Territories run cheaper; hotels spike at Chinese New Year and Rugby Sevens weekend.
Hong Kong travel money tips
Tap for the trains and trams, keep notes for the rest.
Load an Octopus, but keep small notes
An Octopus card is the everyday wallet of Hong Kong: it pays for the MTR, buses, trams, the Star Ferry, convenience stores and many cafes, and the adult card costs HK$150 with HK$50 of that a refundable deposit. What it will not cover is the wet market, the dai pai dong, the red minibus that runs on cash or the shop that shuns HK$1,000 notes - so carry HK$20s, HK$50s and HK$100s for those.
Things to see in Hong Kong
Harbour, peak, temple, Buddha and a thousand food stalls - and a few HK$ notes in your pocket pay for the ferry token, the egg waffle and the market haggle.
Why exchange Hong Kong dollars with us
For the outbound HK$ and the ones that come back unspent: a registered counter in the Sydney CBD, rates you can watch move, nothing added to them.
0% commission, no fees on top
There is no second number. The AUD to HKD rate you agree is the whole cost - 0% commission, no service fee - so the Hong Kong dollars the calculator shows for your amount are the Hong Kong dollars counted out to you.
Live, timestamped counter rates
Our Hong Kong dollar rates are set at the counter: they are refreshed as the market moves through the day and carry the time they were last set, in both the buying and the buy-back direction.
Registered, reviewed, guaranteed
An AUSTRAC registered exchange with ABN 18 675 798 302, holding a Google rating over 59 reviews - and every exchange is covered 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 Hong Kong dollars
Something else on your mind? Call (02) 8014 4222 between 9:30am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
It is the rate in the calculator on this page, shown in both directions - the rate you pay for Hong Kong dollar notes and the rate we pay to buy them back. Because the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar, the AUD to HKD rate tracks the Australian dollar's moves against the greenback through the day, and the counter's confirmed rate at the time of your exchange is the one applied.
Our counter is in the Sydney CBD at 60 York Street, NSW 2000 - take the lift to Level 2, Suite 202A, a four-minute walk from Wynyard station. We are open weekdays from 9:30am until 5pm and you can simply walk in with photo ID; if you would rather the Hong Kong dollars were waiting, phone (02) 8014 4222 before you come.
Look at the buying table on this page: A$1,000 is one of its rows, priced at the same live rate the calculator is using, alongside the other common amounts. The figures refresh whenever the rate changes during the trading day, so treat them as today's guide and take the exact amount from the counter when you exchange.
No. Whether you are buying Hong Kong dollars or selling them back, the rate agreed at the counter is the complete price: 0% commission, no service fee and no handling charge. If the calculator says your Australian dollars buy a certain number of Hong Kong dollars, that is the number you are handed.
Hong Kong dollars are one of the 22 currencies on our board and a major regional currency, so on a normal weekday you can usually walk in and be served. If you want a large amount, or a particular spread of HK$100s and HK$500s, call (02) 8014 4222 before you travel in so we can confirm it and hold it for you.
Mostly HK$100s and HK$500s, with some HK$20s and HK$50s for taxis, markets and snacks. The HK$1,000 note is legal tender but many small shops, stalls and taxi drivers refuse it because of past counterfeits, so it is the note to avoid unless you are paying a hotel bill. Any of the three issuing banks' notes, and the 2003, 2010 and 2018 series, are all valid.
Yes, at the same counter and at the live buy-back rate the calculator shows, with the Australian dollars paid as soon as the count is agreed. The notes need to be in good enough condition to sell to the next traveller, so anything torn, taped, heavily marked or water-damaged may be declined.
In Macau, yes: shops and casinos take Hong Kong dollars one-for-one with the pataca, which is pegged at MOP1.03 to HK$1, though your change will usually come back in patacas that are hard to spend once you return to Hong Kong. Across the border in Shenzhen the Hong Kong dollar is not legal tender - mainland China uses the renminbi, and most payments there are made by phone.
Yes, photo identification is required in both directions. Currency exchange is a designated service under Australia's AML/CTF laws, which means an AUSTRAC registered counter must identify its customers for certain transactions, so bring your ID with you rather than leaving it at home.
Need a different currency?
The board carries 22 currencies, Hong Kong dollars among them - see the full rate board for today's buying and selling rate on each.
