Why is this different from the rate my bank gives me?

Because your bank keeps a margin. The figure here is the European Central Bank's reference rate, a benchmark it publishes for information rather than a price anyone deals at. A bank, card or bureau converts at its own rate, and the gap between that rate and this one is what it charges you, whether or not it calls it a fee.

How often do the rates change?

Once a working day. The ECB publishes a new set at about 16:00 Central European Time, which is 15:00 in the UK all year round, and none at weekends or on its six closing days. The date of the set in use is always shown under the answer, so a conversion on a Saturday says plainly that it uses Friday's rates.

Should I pay in pounds or the local currency abroad?

The local currency. When a card machine or cash machine abroad offers to charge you in pounds, that is dynamic currency conversion: the machine's operator picks the exchange rate instead of your card, and its rate is usually the worse one.

Is the amount I type sent anywhere?

No. When the page opens, your browser fetches the whole table of the day's rates from Frankfurter, a free service that republishes the ECB's figures, and every conversion after that happens on your device. The service sees a request for the day's rates. It never sees the amount or the currencies you choose.

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Rates from the European Central Bank, fetched when the page opens.

This is a reference rate, not the one you will be given. The ECB publishes it for information only. A bank, card or bureau converts at its own rate and keeps the difference, so what you actually get will be less.

Where the rates come from

The European Central Bank publishes a reference rate for each of these currencies against the euro, usually at about 16:00 Central European Time on every working day. The rates come out of a daily procedure between central banks across Europe that normally takes place at about 14:10, so each one is fixed once a day rather than moving with the market.

Nothing new is published at weekends or on the six days a year the euro area's payment system closes: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May, and 25 and 26 December. On those days the latest set is the one before, and the line under the answer always gives its date.

The page asks for the latest set each time it opens, from Frankfurter, a free service that republishes the ECB's figures. The conversion itself happens in your browser, so the amount you type is never sent anywhere.

Pounds to dollars goes through the euro

The ECB quotes every currency against the euro and nothing else, so a pair without the euro in it is a cross rate: the euro rate of the currency you want, divided by the euro rate of the one you have. On 21 September 2026 it set €1 at £0.8578 and at $1.1490, which made £1 worth 1.1490 ÷ 0.8578, or $1.3395.

The working line under the answer does that sum with the day's own figures, in the order a calculator needs, so any result on the page can be checked by hand. The ECB gives each rate to at least five significant figures, which is far finer than any bank's margin.

Why you will not be given this rate

A reference rate is a benchmark, not a price anyone deals at. The ECB publishes these for information only and strongly discourages using them for transactions. Whoever converts your money, whether a bank, a card, a bureau or an app, works from a market rate and keeps a margin, and the margin is usually built into the rate rather than listed as a fee.

That is how a bureau can advertise no commission and still be paid. To see what a quote really costs, compare the rate you are offered with the one here: the percentage calculator will give you the gap.

Abroad, pay in the local currency

A card machine or cash machine abroad will sometimes offer to charge you in pounds. This is dynamic currency conversion, and saying yes lets the machine's operator set the exchange rate instead of your card. Its rate is usually the worse of the two, so choose the local currency and let your own card convert.

Many UK cards also add a fee for spending in another currency, whichever you choose. It is worth checking yours before you travel, since it is charged on every payment in another currency, not once.

Currencies that are not here

The list is exactly the ECB's. It does not publish rates for the UAE dirham, the Egyptian pound or the Moroccan dirham, among others, so this page does not convert them rather than borrowing a figure from another source. The Bulgarian lev left the list on 1 January 2026, when Bulgaria joined the euro.

Common questions

Why is this different from the rate my bank gives me?: Because your bank keeps a margin. The figure here is the European Central Bank's reference rate, a benchmark it publishes for information rather than a price anyone deals at. A bank, card or bureau converts at its own rate, and the gap between that rate and this one is what it charges you, whether or not it calls it a fee.
How often do the rates change?: Once a working day. The ECB publishes a new set at about 16:00 Central European Time, which is 15:00 in the UK all year round, and none at weekends or on its six closing days. The date of the set in use is always shown under the answer, so a conversion on a Saturday says plainly that it uses Friday's rates.
Should I pay in pounds or the local currency abroad?: The local currency. When a card machine or cash machine abroad offers to charge you in pounds, that is dynamic currency conversion: the machine's operator picks the exchange rate instead of your card, and its rate is usually the worse one.
Is the amount I type sent anywhere?: No. When the page opens, your browser fetches the whole table of the day's rates from Frankfurter, a free service that republishes the ECB's figures, and every conversion after that happens on your device. The service sees a request for the day's rates. It never sees the amount or the currencies you choose.