Are there banks that exchange foreign currency for free?

In this guide, we’ll give you the lowdown on the banks that exchange foreign currency for free.

Plus, we'll also cover alternatives such as Wise, which could save you money on converting currency - no standing in line or paying high fees to get your money delivered.

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What banks don't charge for currency exchange?

Banks have a reputation for being expensive places to convert currency. But there are a handful of major and regional US banks that buck this trend, and offer low cost or even free foreign exchange services.

Bank of America

You can order foreign currency with Bank of America as long as you are an existing customer with a checking or savings account. There’s no fee, although you will pay $7.50 for delivery if your order is less than $1,000 (or the currency equivalent).¹

So order more than $1,000, and you’ll get delivery right to your door for no fee. You can order up to $10,000 every 30 days.¹

The bank offers special exchange rates to Bank of America Preferred Rewards clients. As well as a discount on the published exchange rate, you’ll also get standard shipping for no fee.²

Currency can be ordered via online or mobile banking.

Citi

Citi’s World Wallet Foreign Exchange Service gives you access to over 50 currencies, as long as you’re an existing customer.

There’s no fee if you’re a Citigold client or have a Citi Priority Account Package. For all other account holders, there’s a $5 fee for orders under $1,000 (or currency equivalent).³

Delivery is free to a local Citibank branch of your choice, and free to your home or work address if you’re a Citigold or Citi Priority customer. Otherwise, delivery fees start from $10 for a standard overnight service.³

You’ll need to call to order currency, and the amount will be debited from your Citi checking or savings account.

PNC Bank

If you have an account with PNC Bank (which operates in around 27 states), you can call your local branch to order currency. There are no transaction fees, and PNC claims it has competitive exchange rates.⁴

Once you’ve placed your order, it’ll be delivered to your local branch within 24-48 hours.

U.S. Bank

If you’re a U.S. Bank account holder, you can order foreign currency in advance simply by logging into your online banking. Alternatively, you can pop into a local branch to buy currency ready for an upcoming trip.

U.S. Bank offers delivery to the local branch of your choice, with the money arriving the next business day (if you order before 2pm). There’s a $10 exchange fee if you order $250 or less, but there’s no charge if you order more.⁵

How can I get foreign currency without fees? A look at alternatives

Before you head straight into your local bank branch to buy currency, it could be worth checking out a few alternatives.

Banks tend to add a margin to what is known as the mid-market or interbank exchange rate. This means they make money from the transaction, but it makes it more costly for you. Ultimately, you get less currency in exchange for your dollars.

Let’s take a look at other options.

Multi-currency accounts

To get a better exchange rate when spending and withdrawing cash overseas, you might want to consider opening a multi-currency account. These typically don’t have foreign transaction fees, along with better rates.

Here are a couple of options.

Wise

Wise is a Money Transmitter specializing in low-cost currency conversion, international payments and multi-currency accounts you can operate with just your phone.

Open a Wise account, and you’ll have a choice of ways to spend in the local currency worldwide.

You’ll get a Wise card (for a one-time fee of $9) which:

• It is accepted everywhere that takes card payments.
• Automatically converts your dollars to the local currency at the mid-market exchange rate. So, there are no margins or hidden costs.
• It has just a small currency conversion fee, or it’s fee-free if you already have the currency in your Wise account. So for greater control of your money, you can convert between currencies before you go - then you’ll know exactly what you have to spend.
• Lets you withdraw cash if you need it. You can get $100 a month (2 or fewer withdrawals) with no Wise fee, and it’s just 2% + $1.50 after that.

The Wise account isn’t a bank account, but it offers many useful banking features. So you can use it year-round, not just during your overseas trip.

Along with a debit card, the account lets you manage your money in 40 currencies, make easy international payments and get local account details, so you can receive money from overseas.

See how much you can save with Wise:

Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing: Only Pay for What You Use for the most up-to-date pricing and fee information.

Wise will not charge you for these withdrawals, but some additional charges may occur from independent ATM networks.

Revolut

The money app Revolut offers a number of travel-friendly features. Depending on whether you go for a free or paid plan, this includes:¹⁰

• A debit card for use worldwide
• International spending at market leading exchange rates in 150 currencies
• Fee-free currency exchange - although be aware this is only available for 25+ currencies from Sunday to Friday at restricted times.
• Travel perks including insurance protection, complimentary airport lounge access and accidental medical insurance (paid plans only).

To benefit from the most lucrative travel benefits, though, you’ll need to pay a monthly charge. These range from $9.99 to $16.99 a month.¹⁰

💡 See our Revolut vs. Wise comparison here: Revolut vs Wise: Which is better.

Overseas ATMs

One way to get hold of foreign currency is simply to withdraw it from an ATM once you arrive at your destination.

But you’ll need to be very careful. This is because some banks charge high foreign ATM withdrawal fees on their debit or credit cards. So check before you go, to make sure you won’t be hit with any unexpected fees. You should also keep an eye out for fees charged by the ATM operator.

When withdrawing from foreign ATMs, a rule of thumb to remember is to always choose the local currency. The ATM may offer to do the conversion for you, but this means it gets to choose the exchange rate. Select the local currency and your bank or card provider will do the conversion, which could give you a slightly better exchange rate.

Other banks which exchange currency - but with fees

If you bank elsewhere, you may not be able to access the fee-free currency exchange services offered by the above banks.

So, here’s our pick of the best of the rest. These are banks which offer foreign exchange, but for a fee. This should help you to see how your own bank stacks up compared to others, and whether it’s worth using it to order currency.

Bank	Existing customers only?	Fee for currency exchange
America First Credit Union⁶	Yes	$10 Additional $10 for orders under $300
Huntington Bank⁷	Yes	$8 flat fee
TD Bank⁸	No	$7.50 for TD Bank account holders $10 for non-account holders
Service Credit Union⁹	Yes	$15 for orders under $500

Banks such as Chase, Citizens Bank, First Citizens Bank and First Horizon Bank also offer currency exchange services.

However, they don’t make details of their fees available, so you’ll need to contact each bank to find out how much it costs.

Where can I exchange foreign currency to U.S. dollars for free?

When you get back from your trip, you might have some currency left over. You could save it for a future trip, but what if you won’t be going back to that particular country? Or what if you need the money back to cover everyday expenses?

The solution is to convert currency back into US dollars. Bear in mind that you may lose some to the bank’s chosen exchange rate, and there may be fees involved depending on your bank.

Two banks offer fee-free exchanges of foreign currency back to US dollars, but only if you change more than $1,000. These are Bank of America and Citibank. If you’re exchanging less than this, which is quite likely, there’s a $7.50 fee to pay with BoA¹ and a $5 fee with Citi.³

PNC Bank will also buy back your currency for US dollars on the spot, with no transaction fees.⁴

It’s worth bearing in mind that you’ll only be able to exchange notes, rather than coins. So, you might have to hang onto any loose change after your trip.

Bottom line

So, which bank is best for currency exchange? Ultimately, it’ll come down to which bank you already have an account with. This is because most of the banks on our list restrict foreign currency exchange services to existing customers only.

If you’re super organized, though, you could potentially switch banks to take advantage of fee-free exchange services like those offered by Citibank, Bank of America and PNC Bank. But this could be more hassle than it’s worth.

A better option could be to open a multi-currency account, which lets you spend and withdraw cash in lots of different currencies worldwide.

You can open a Wise account and card easily online, and keep it alongside your everyday checking account if you like. But when you travel, you’ll already have a low-cost, convenient solution all set up and ready to go. This certainly beats standing in line at the bank or paying high fees to get currency delivered.

Learn more about Wise

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Sources used for this article:

1. Bank of America - Placing A Foreign Currency Order FAQs
2. Bank of America - Foreign Currency Exchange
3. Citi - World Wallet® Foreign Currency Exchange Services
4. PNC - Foreign currency exchange services
5. U.S. Bank - Knowledge Base - Is there a fee to order foreign currency?
6. America First - Foreign Currency Exchange
7. Huntington - Foreign currency
8. TD - Foreign Exchange
9. Service Credit Union - Foreign currency banknotes
10. Revolut - Our pricing plans

Sources checked on 03-Jul-2023.