SAR Saudi Riyal
Buy and sell Saudi Riyals in Sydney
Riyal notes for Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh or Jeddah, exchanged upstairs at Suite 202A, Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000. We sell riyals and buy them back at live counter rates, 0% commission, Monday to Friday 9:30am to 5pm.
How to get your riyals
From the live rate to riyal notes in hand, in three short steps.
Check today's SAR exchange rate
The calculator prices the riyal in both directions: the notes your Australian dollars buy, and the A$ we pay for riyals left over when you are home.
Visit our store
Come up to Suite 202A, Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000, a four-minute walk from Wynyard station, or phone (02) 8014 4222 beforehand and your riyals will be set aside.
Get your cash
Notes are counted while you watch and paid for on the spot; riyals you bring home are bought back at the same counter.
Key information about the Saudi riyal
The riyal explained: who issues it, the notes you will carry, and where it spends.
Saudi Arabia's riyal is issued by the Saudi Central Bank, known as SAMA, and divides into 100 halalas. Since June 1986 it has been held at SAR 3.75 to one US dollar, so against the Australian dollar it moves as the US dollar does. In February 2025 the Kingdom gave the riyal its own calligraphic symbol; this page writes SAR.
The current notes belong to the sixth issue, released in December 2016 with King Salman's portrait: SAR 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500, joined by commemorative 20 and 200 riyal notes and, since 2020, a polymer SAR 5. The SAR 1 note became a coin. King Abdullah's 2007 series remains valid, but King Fahd notes have been withdrawn.
Much of the interest in buying Saudi riyals in Sydney comes from Umrah and Hajj pilgrims, and from people working in Riyadh or Jeddah. Riyals are among the 22 currencies at York Street: walk up with photo ID, or telephone first to reserve, and whatever you carry home is bought back at the live buy-back rate.
Saudi Riyal details
- Currency
- Saudi Riyal
- Code
- SAR
- Symbol
- SAR
- Subunit
- 100 halalas
- Central bank
- Saudi Central Bank (SAMA)
Saudi Riyal in use
- Banknotes
- SAR 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 (sixth issue, King Salman, from December 2016; the SAR 5 has been polymer since 2020; commemorative SAR 20 of 2020 and SAR 200 of 2021 also circulate; the 2007 King Abdullah series remains valid)
- Coins
- 5, 10, 25 and 50 halalas plus SAR 1 and SAR 2 (2016 series); a 1 halala coin exists but is rarely seen
- Used in
- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh, Jeddah and AlUla
- Also used
- Nowhere else as everyday money; the riyal is fixed to the US dollar at SAR 3.75, a peg unchanged since 1986, so the AUD to SAR rate tracks the Australian dollar against the US dollar
Ask for plenty of SAR 5 and 10 notes if you are going for Umrah: sadaqah, a taxi from the Haram, water and dates are small cash moments, and a SAR 500 note is hard to break at a stall.
Today's SAR exchange rate in Sydney
Here is the AUD to SAR rate at our counter right now, in both directions - how many riyals your Australian dollars buy, and how many A$ your riyals bring when sold back. Each line is worked from the calculator's live figure.
Buying riyals in Sydney
A$1 = SAR 2.5538
A$ paid here, riyal notes for the Kingdom.
- 0% commission - the riyal rate we quote is the full price, with no fee behind it
- Payment is by cash alone at the window for the time being
- For Umrah, weight the mix towards SAR 10s and 50s with a stack of 5s for sadaqah and taxis; keep 500s for hotel bills
Selling riyals back in Sydney
SAR 1 = A$0.3734
We buy your leftover riyals for A$.
- Once the count is agreed you are paid in Australian dollars straight away
- Notes should be whole and clean; a riyal that is torn, taped or heavily worn may be turned down
- Sixth-issue King Salman notes and the 2007 King Abdullah series are both current riyals; anything from the King Fahd era or earlier has been withdrawn from circulation
Counter rates like these move with the market during the day. The time stamped on the calculator is the time this table was priced, and whichever rate is confirmed at the counter when you exchange is the rate you get.
What things cost in Saudi Arabia
Riyadh and Jeddah prices in round numbers; hotels and meals near the Haram in Makkah and Madinah climb steeply in Ramadan and the Hajj season.
Saudi travel money tips
One rule that matters most in the Kingdom, then three smaller ones.
Tap for the big things, cash for the small
Saudi Arabia has gone largely cashless. The mada network, Visa and Mastercard are taken at hotels, supermarkets, restaurants, petrol stations and most attractions, and contactless phones work wherever cards do. Cash fills the gaps: a tip for the porter or driver, a taxi that will not take a card, dates and prayer beads from a stall near the Haram, and sadaqah given by hand. A fold of SAR 5s, 10s and 50s covers those moments.
Things to see in Saudi Arabia
From the Haram to the tombs of Hegra, the Kingdom has opened to visitors - and a little riyal cash covers taxis, souq stalls and roadside dates.
Why exchange riyals with us
Riyals before you leave for the Kingdom, Australian dollars for the riyals you bring back: one registered CBD counter, live rates in each direction, no charge hidden inside the figure.
0% commission, no fees on top
Riyals are sold and bought at 0% commission. The AUD to SAR rate on the screen is the price - no service fee, no handling charge - so the riyals the calculator promises are the riyals counted onto the counter.
Live, timestamped counter rates
Both riyal rates here are the counter's own: what we sell at and what we pay when you sell back. They refresh as the market moves through the day, and each is stamped with the moment it was fixed.
Registered, reviewed, guaranteed
Currency Wise Exchange is AUSTRAC registered, ABN 18 675 798 302, rated by 59 Google reviewers, and puts its Best Price Guarantee in writing on every exchange.
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 Saudi riyals
Have a question we have not answered? Call (02) 8014 4222 between 9:30am and 5pm on a weekday.
Our calculator above carries the live figure both ways - the rate we sell riyal notes at and the rate we pay to buy them back. Because the riyal is fixed to the US dollar at SAR 3.75, AUD to SAR simply rises and falls with the Australian dollar against the US dollar over the day, and whatever the counter confirms at the moment you exchange is the figure that counts.
Currency Wise Exchange is at Suite 202A, Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000, in the Sydney CBD, upstairs and about four minutes on foot from Wynyard station. We are open Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 5pm; walk in with photo ID, no appointment needed. To have riyals set aside before you arrive, phone (02) 8014 4222.
The conversion table further up this page prices A$1,000, along with several other common amounts, at the counter's current rate and moves with the calculator through the day. Because the riyal follows the US dollar, the figure changes only as much as the Australian dollar does; the table is a reliable guide for the day, but the number that applies is the rate the counter confirms when you exchange.
No. Whether you are buying riyal notes or selling them back, the commission is 0%, and no service fee or handling charge is added once the rate is agreed. That agreed rate is the entire cost, so the riyals counted out to you match the figure the calculator gave for your Australian dollars.
Usually, yes. With Umrah travel from Sydney running all year, Hajj each season and the Kingdom now open to tourists, the riyal is a steady request among the 22 currencies at our counter. If you need a large sum, or a particular spread of notes for the pilgrimage, ring (02) 8014 4222 before you come in so we can check and put it aside.
For daily spending, SAR 50 and 100 notes carry the bulk, and plenty of 5s and 10s pay for taxis, water, dates and sadaqah without waiting for change. The SAR 500 is awkward anywhere but a hotel or a large shop, so keep it for big bills. Current riyals are the sixth-issue King Salman notes, with the SAR 5 in paper and polymer; the 2007 King Abdullah notes remain valid too.
Yes. Bring them back to the same counter: we pay the live buy-back rate from the calculator, in Australian dollars, as soon as the count is agreed. Riyals need to be in good resaleable condition - a note that is torn, taped, badly stained or written on may be refused, because every riyal we buy goes on to the next traveller or back to the Kingdom.
Less than most first-time pilgrims expect. Hotels, the Haramain train and larger shops in Makkah and Madinah take cards, so cash is for taxis, snacks, dates, gifts, sadaqah and small tips. Travel guides suggest roughly SAR 35 to 100 a day per person in personal spending, and many pilgrims carry about SAR 500 in small notes alongside a card. Anything worth SAR 60,000 or more must be declared on arrival.
Yes. Please bring current photo identification. Currency exchange is a designated service under Australia's AML/CTF Act, and identification is required for certain transactions whether you are buying riyals or selling them back. The same rule applies at every AUSTRAC registered exchange in Australia.
Need a different currency?
The riyal is one of 22 currencies we buy and sell; the full rate board lists each of them with today's two rates.
