Why airport currency exchange costs so much

Skip the airport exchange desk. That’s the whole article, really. The rest is the arithmetic behind it and a short plan for what to do instead.

What you actually get at the desk

Every exchange desk has two numbers: the market rate you see online, and the rate it will give you. The distance between them is the price you pay, whatever the sign says about “no commission”.

At airports that distance tends to be big. An investigation reported in December 2016 by trade title TTG looked at 20 British airport bureaux over three months and found the average rate was 13% worse than the market rate. A 2017 survey by the broker FairFX for the BBC put the average gap at 14% across 16 large UK airports. More recently, the currency firm eurochange compared five busy UK airports in March 2024. For a €1,000 purchase, the worst of them cost the customer about £209 more than the market rate implied, and even the best cost about £156 more.

Those are surveys run by companies that sell travel money, so treat the exact figures as a guide rather than gospel. The direction is consistent across years and across sources, though. Airport rates are poor. A US consumer piece updated in August 2025 puts it in fewer words: airports are the worst place to exchange money.

Why the rate is bad

Three reasons, none of them mysterious.

First, you’re a captive customer. You’ve just landed or you’re about to fly, you want local cash, and you won’t walk twenty minutes into town to compare. Desks know this.

Second, rent. Airport operators charge exchange firms for the space, and that 2016 investigation reported that Heathrow and Gatwick earned £76 million from bureau rents in 2015. That cost has to come from somewhere. It comes out of the rate.

Third, exclusivity. Some airports let one or two operators run every desk, and the same report linked the poor rates partly to exclusivity deals. Less competition means less pressure to narrow the gap.

None of this means the staff are doing anything shady. The desk is simply priced for people who don’t have a choice.

The arithmetic, with made-up numbers

Say you want €1,000 in cash and the market rate is 1.15 euros per pound. This is illustrative, not a live quote. At that rate, €1,000 costs about £869.57.

Now say the airport desk offers 1.00 euro per pound. That’s a gap of about 13%, in line with the surveys above. Euro 1,000 now costs exactly £1,000.

Where	Rate (illustrative)	Cost of €1,000
Market rate	1.15 euros per £1	£869.57
Airport desk	1.00 euro per £1	£1,000.00
Difference		£130.43

That’s £130 for standing at a counter for four minutes. If the desk also adds a flat fee, say £5, it’s higher again. And you still need to get the money out of your pocket and into a hotel safe.

Flip it around: with that same £130 you could pay for a couple of decent dinners out.

The sell-back trap

Desks quote two prices. One is what they charge you to buy their currency. The other is what they pay when you sell it back. The sell-back rate is often worse, so ask for both.

So if you land home with leftover cash and head for the airport desk, you take a second hit on money that already lost value on the way out. Spend it, or keep it in a drawer for next time. A drawer is cheaper.

What to do instead

Pick based on where you are in the trip.

Before you leave home

If you want a small amount of cash for the taxi, the first coffee and a tip, order it a few days ahead. Compare the actual rate offered (not the headline “commission-free” claim) across your bank, the post office or high-street providers, and an online provider that delivers. Rates vary from one to the next, and the checking takes five minutes. Many of them let you order online and collect in a branch, but whether that’s available and what it costs depends on the provider, so check.

Keep it small. How much cash is sensible to carry is a separate question, covered in its own guide.

When you land

Use a card for anything that accepts one. For cash, use a bank-branded ATM in the arrivals hall or in town, and decline any conversion into your home currency when the machine offers it. That rule is big enough to have its own article, because it applies at tills as well as at cash machines.

Not sure what a fair rate looks like? Check the live number first. For example, on GBP to EUR or USD to EUR you can see the market rate, and rates refreshed hourly give you a benchmark to hold any quote up against.

If you’re stuck and need cash right now

Sometimes there’s no other option. A late arrival, a closed ATM, a taxi driver who only takes cash. Change the smallest amount that gets you through the next few hours. Ask for the rate and the total in writing before you hand anything over, and compare what you’ll receive to the market number on your phone.

Read the board properly

Desks advertise in a way that makes the price hard to read. Look for these.

“0% commission” or “no fees”. The cost is in the rate instead.
Two rates side by side, one for buying and one for selling. Make sure you’re reading the right one.
A “sample” rate that only applies above a high minimum amount.
A flat fee on top, charged per transaction, which hurts small exchanges most.

Then ask one question: “How much local currency will I get for this exact amount, after everything?” If they can’t give you a single number, walk.

Airport ATMs and card terminals

Airport cash machines aren’t automatically safer than the desk. Some are run by independent operators rather than banks, and some will offer to charge you in your home currency. Visa describes this as dynamic currency conversion: the machine or shop converts the amount for you, using its own exchange rate and sometimes extra fees. Under Visa’s guidance the merchant or ATM should show both amounts, the rate and any markup, and should let you decline. Visa’s advice if you aren’t shown that or you feel pushed: decline and report it to your card issuer.

Look at the screen. Pick the local currency. Move on.

Also check what your own bank charges for foreign withdrawals. US reporting from 2025 says banks typically charge a flat fee or up to about 3% per foreign withdrawal. Some charge nothing. Find out before you leave, because a flat fee makes several small withdrawals expensive and one larger withdrawal cheaper.

A short plan

Do this:

Order a small amount of cash a few days before, only if you want some for arrival.
Pay by card wherever it’s accepted, in the local currency.
Withdraw more cash from a bank ATM in the destination, in the local currency.
Check the live rate on your phone before you accept any quote.

Skip this: the desk next to baggage reclaim, the “guaranteed rate” boards, and any offer to convert your card payment into your home currency.

Rules about how much cash you can bring in or out of a country differ by destination, and large sums may need to be declared. Check the rules of your destination before you travel.

Sources

Checked: November 2026