Pound GBP to US Dollar USD exchange rate (2024)

Go digital in the USA

Get our Travel Money Card and top up with US dollars. Accepted anywhere you see the Mastercard® symbol.

How far will your US dollars go?

• Buying USD from a Post Office branch is simple. You can simply go into one of our branches that sells foreign currency. There are thousands, just use our branch finder to find your most convenient. You can order online for collection or delivery. Or you can load US dollars onto a Travel Money Card.

  It’s very simple, and the US dollar is one of two currencies (the other being the euro) with the option to collect your travel cash in branch two hours after you’ve ordered it.

• The US dollar is the formal currency of the USA as well as the de facto currency of numerous other states and regions. It is the most traded currency in the world, as well as the currency most held in reserve.

  The US dollar is a relatively stable currency, which has meant that some countries have introduced it at times when their own currency is volatile. Some countries, such as Lebanon, unofficially use US dollars in conjunction with their own tender. Other territories – for instance the British Turks and Caicos Islands – officially use the US dollar on the exchange too.

• Officially, the countries and territories that use the USdollar are: United States of America, AmericanSamoa, British Virgin Islands, Ecuador, El Salvador,Guam, East Timor, Marshall Islands, Federated Statesof Micronesia, Palau, Northern Mariana Islands, PuertoRico, Turks and Caicos, US Virgin Islands, SpanishVirgin Islands, British Indian Ocean Territory, Bonaire,Saint Eustatius and Saba.

  There are also many more countries whose currenciesare fixed to the US dollar, meaning that they can useUS dollars in everyday transactions and on theexchange.

  Please note, though, that if you have a Post OfficeTravel Money Card and load it with US dollars,it willonly be accepted within the USA itself. Itcan’tbeused to pay in US dollars in other territories that usethem as either an official or unofficial currency.

• Each US dollar is divided into 100 cents. Coins come in 1 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent and 25 cent. These are called penny, nickel, dime and quarter respectively. Fifty-cent coins and one-dollar coins are still minted, however are seldom used in day-to-day tender.

  Notes come in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. A 20-dollar coin is minted but – like a 50-cent coin – not in popular circulation. Like with many currencies, higher-value banknotes are occasionally minted but not submitted into circulation.

• The USA has a colourful slang around its currency, and it can help to know some if you’re going. The most common is, of course, ‘buck’ – a reference to the deer (buck) skin trading that once underpinned the fledgling American economy. A single US dollar is very occasionally referred to as a ‘simoleon’, while banknotes in general can be called ‘greenbacks’. Both of these uses are fairly arcane.

  A penny is the same as it is in the UK, a ‘nickel’ is a 5-cent coin, a ‘dime’ is a 10-cent coin and a ‘quarter’ is a 25-cent coin. A $100 bill is occasionally called a ‘Benjamin’ owing to the image of Benjamin Franklin on them.

• Read all travel money FAQs

• Canadian dollar
• Euro
• Brazilian real
• Mexican peso
• East Caribbean dollar
• Chilean peso

Post Office Travel Money Card is an electronic money product issued by First Rate Exchange Services Ltd pursuant to license by Mastercard International. First Rate Exchange Services Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales with number 4287490 whose registered office is Great West House, Great West Road, Brentford, TW8 9DF, (Financial Services Register No. 900412). Mastercard is a registered trademark, and the circles design is a trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.