Airport Currency Exchange Guide · Last checked 18 October 2026

Airport Currency Exchange Markup: What Does It Really Cost You?

"Airport exchange rates are bad" is common travel money advice, and the least useful, because it does not say how badly. We went to find the evidence behind the number and could not find any worth trusting.

This guide explains what a markup is, shows the figures we could source and where they disagree, and gives you a way to measure the cost yourself at any counter. Where a detail rests on one source, we say so. Everything was last checked on 18 October 2026.

The short version

• A markup is the gap between the rate a counter gives you and the mid-market rate. It is built into the rate, so it never shows up as a fee.
• The "8 to 15 per cent" figure we used before comes from commercial comparison sites with no stated method.
• The sources we could check put airport markups at roughly 1 to 3 per cent for popular currencies at one major airport, and several times that for less common currencies.
• You can measure any counter in under a minute with one division.
• If a machine asks to charge you in your home currency, decline. This is a separate, extra markup.

What "markup" actually means

Every currency pair has a mid-market rate. Wise describes it as the mid-point between the buy and sell prices of two currencies at a given moment, the rate banks trade at, and the number you see if you search the pair on Google. Winvesta, an Indian currency provider, describes it the same way and adds that it is a wholesale benchmark, not a retail price. Both are commercial companies promoting their own services, but they agree with each other and with how the term is used in the industry.

No retail counter gives you exactly that rate. Each adds a margin to cover costs and profit, and that margin is usually built in, not charged as a fee. The question is never whether there is a markup. It is how big it is.

To measure it, subtract the counter's rate from the mid-market rate, divide by the mid-market rate, and multiply by 100. Our mid-market rate guide covers how to find that number.

Where the 8 to 15 per cent figure came from

The same range appears in a June 2026 article on Compare Travel Cash, a commercial price comparison site. Its table lists airport bureaux at a spread of 8 to 15 per cent, and puts the cost at 40 to 75 pounds on a 500 pound exchange. The article does not describe how the figures were gathered, what it sampled, or when. It cites other websites for some figures, but not for this table.

We cannot say who copied from whomm. What we can say is that a figure repeated across commercial sites, with no data, is not evidence. The template we follow for every page says to drop a claim that gets more specific without a primary source, so we dropped it.

What the figures we could check show

No source we found measured many airport counters on known dates. These are the best individual pieces of evidence, with their limits.

• THAIest, a travel site, recorded rates at Singapore Changi on one visit, with an article date of November 2025. It found the US dollar about 2.6 per cent below the mid-market rate, the Australian and Canadian dollars about 2.2 to 2.3 per cent below, the euro about 1 per cent below and the pound about 0.8 per cent below. It summarised the main currencies as about 2 to 2.5 per cent lower.
• MoneySmart, a Singapore finance blog (October 2025), says airport rates are typically 1 to 3 per cent less competitive than the city. It cites a Wise article for the figure, so it is second-hand.
• The Kopi Notes, a personal finance blog (September 2026), puts kiosk markups at 3 to 8 per cent. It calls its ranges illustrative and does not say which kiosks it checked.
• Compare Travel Cash puts airport bureaux at 8 to 15 per cent. See above.

Two things stand out. The one source that actually compared counters with the mid-market rate on a given day found low single digits for popular currencies. And the sources that give higher numbers are the ones that explain the least about how they got them. We are not going to pick a winner. The honest summary is that popular currencies at a major airport can cost a couple of per cent, and the real figure on any day depends on the counter, the currency and the amount.

For comparison, Winvesta says traditional Indian banks often sit 1.5 to 4 per cent above the mid-market rate, and Wise says typical markups run 1 to 5 per cent depending on the provider. Both are commercial and both give no data. They are useful to show that a markup of a few per cent is not unusual anywhere, so an airport counter is not automatically in a class of its own.

Which currencies cost more

Here the sources agree, which makes this the most reliable point in this guide. Popular currencies are cheaper to exchange than less common ones.

• THAIest found the main currencies about 2 to 2.5 per cent below the mid-market rate at Changi, and said less common ones such as the Thai baht, Indian rupee and Chinese yuan could be 5 to 10 per cent lower.
• The Kopi Notes puts US dollars, euros and yen at 3 to 5 per cent and less traded currencies at 6 to 8 per cent or more.
• A Singapore airport-services site says the loss on a currency such as the Vietnamese dong can be large, while the gap for US dollars is usually smaller.

Our reading, which the sources do not prove, is that a counter can resell a popular currency to the next customer more easily than a rare one, so it needs a smaller cushion. Whatever the reason, if you carry a less common currency, the case for waiting until you can compare is stronger.

Does the counter's position matter?

At Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, two travel guides we checked say the bank kiosks in the arrivals area give worse rates than the independent booths downstairs. Our Bangkok guide covers that in detail.

We cannot say the same about other airports. It is common to read that counters right at arrivals charge more because they can, but we found no source that tested it outside Bangkok. Treat it as a good thing to check, not a rule. The same goes for the idea that several counters side by side keep each other honest. It sounds plausible, and our Bangkok sources fit it, but we found no study that proves it in general.

What a markup costs in real money

These numbers are an example of the method. They are not typical rates. On a 500 dollar exchange:

• At 1 per cent, you lose about 5 dollars compared with the mid-market rate.
• At 2.5 per cent, you lose about 12.50 dollars.
• At 5 per cent, you lose about 25 dollars.
• At 10 per cent, you lose about 50 dollars.

You don't need a particular percentage to see the point. Whatever the markup is, it grows with the amount. A 2.5 per cent gap is a coffee on 100 dollars and a good dinner on 1,000. That's why the sensible approach is to change a small amount when you are in a hurry and compare carefully when the sum is large.

To check a counter in practice, take the mid-market rate from your phone, say 1.00. If the counter offers 0.95, divide 0.95 by 1.00, which gives you 0.95, and subtract it from one. The gap is 5 per cent. It takes about a minute.

Why a "no commission" counter can cost more

A worked example shows why the rate matters more than the sign. The numbers are made up. Say the mid-market rate is 1.00, and you are changing 1,000 units of your currency.

Counter A advertises no commission and offers a rate of 0.95. You receive 950 units of the local currency.

Counter B charges a 1 per cent fee, which is 10 units, and offers a rate of 0.985. You hand over 1,000, the fee takes 10, and the remaining 990 is converted at 0.985. You receive 975.15 units.

Counter B looks more expensive because it shows a fee. Counter A hides a larger cost in the rate. The gap is about 25 units, or about 2.6 per cent, and it's only visible if you work out what you will actually receive. That's the number to compare.

Dynamic currency conversion: the second markup

If a card machine or ATM asks whether you want to be charged in your home currency or the local currency, it is offering Dynamic Currency Conversion, or DCC. The machine's provider converts the amount, at a rate they set, with a markup of their own.

• Bankrate, a US finance site, says the average DCC markup across Europe is around 5 per cent, and cites a study that found paying in euros at a Czech ATM cost 13.7 per cent more than paying in koruna. It was published in January 2025.
• Elliott Report, a consumer advocacy site, describes a traveller charged a 3 per cent markup when he paid in dollars for a Swiss train ticket. It adds that his own card could charge 1 to 3 per cent for a foreign conversion on top. The page was last updated in January 2024.
• Compare Travel Cash says DCC adds a further 3 to 7 per cent. Again, it gives no method.

The figures vary, but they point the same way, which is why every guide says to pay in the local currency. A payment company's compliance guide (Worldline, January 2026) summarises the card-scheme rules: the cardholder must be offered a real choice between the two currencies, the exchange rate and markup must be shown, and if you decline, the payment must go through in the local currency. So you are entitled to say no. Our DCC guide explains how it looks on a machine.

How to cut the cost

• Check the mid-market rate before you land, so you know what a fair rate looks like.
• Change only what you need at the airport, and compare before changing more.
• Read the rate on the board for your currency, not a "zero commission" sign. A sign about commission says nothing about the rate.
• Decline DCC every time.
• Keep a note of the rate you were offered and the amount you received. Over a few trips, that record tells you more about your own costs than any headline percentage.
• For the choice between cash, cards and ATMs, see our guide on ATMs versus forex cards.

Our Changi guide shows how this works at a single airport with several counters, and our Bangkok guide shows it at another.

None of this means you should never change money at an airport. If you land late, need cash for a taxi, or simply want to start your trip without stress, a small exchange at a modest markup can be a sensible convenience. The point is to know what the convenience costs, and to keep it small, so that it stays a choice and not a surprise.

Common mistakes

• Trusting a single headline percentage from a travel website, including our own earlier one.
• Assuming "no commission" means a fair rate.
• Comparing one counter's rate with another's without checking the mid-market rate.
• Treating every currency alike. Less common currencies usually cost more.
• Saying yes to home-currency charging on a machine.

What we could not confirm

• That airport counters typically charge 8 to 15 per cent.
• A large, dated comparison of airport counters across several airports. We found none.
• Whether counters at the arrivals exit charge more than those a short walk away, at airports other than Bangkok.
• Why the Changi snapshot is so much lower than some of the published ranges. It may reflect the airport, the day, or the method.
• Any independent check of the typical markups claimed by Wise and Winvesta. Both promote their own services.

A simple plan

1. Look up the mid-market rate on your phone before you land.
2. At the counter, read the rate for your currency and work out the gap.
3. If the gap is large, change only what you need for the first few hours.
4. Compare other options before changing more.
5. Choose the local currency whenever a machine asks.

FAQ

How much do airports mark up currency exchange?
We could not find a reliable single figure. The best-measured snapshot we found, at Changi, put popular currencies at about 1 to 2.6 per cent below the mid-market rate, and less common ones at 5 to 10 per cent. Other sources give higher ranges without showing their method.

Is "0% commission" really free?
No. The cost sits in the exchange rate, so compare the rate, not the sign.

Why do some currencies cost more than others?
Popular currencies are easier for the counter to resell, so the margin is smaller. Less common currencies usually carry more.

Should I always say no to DCC?
Every source we checked says to pay in the local currency. You are entitled to decline, and the rules say the payment must then go through in local currency.

Sources and how we checked them

Checked on 18 October 2026. Where we call something confirmed, at least two of these sources agree. Most are commercial sites, and none gives the airport counters' own rate boards.

• Wise, commercial provider, mid-market rate explainer, published 27 May 2026 and updated 27 August 2026.
• Winvesta, commercial Indian provider, mid-market rate explainer, 20 May 2026.
• Compare Travel Cash, commercial comparison site, airport exchange rates guide, 10 June 2026.
• THAIest, travel site, Changi money changer page, updated 25 November 2025.
• MoneySmart, finance blog, 24-hour money changers in Singapore, 13 October 2025.
• The Kopi Notes, personal finance blog, Changi kiosk markup, September 2026.
• Singapore Airport Services, lounge and transfer site, Changi currency exchange guide (undated).
• Bankrate, US finance site, dynamic currency conversion, 2 January 2025.
• Elliott Report, consumer advocacy site, dynamic currency conversion, updated 23 January 2024.
• Worldline, payment company, DCC compliance guide, 30 January 2026.

Editorial note: The counter, rate and airport information in this guide is editorial and is not paid for. Rates and fees change, so confirm the final rate at the counter before exchanging.