Hungary - Hungarian Forint - Currency Guide

General Currency Info - Hungarian Forint

The forint – originally florentinus, taken from the Italian city of Florence – was used in Hungary as early as the fourteenth century. It is subdivided into 100 fillér, although due to the effects of inflation one fillér is now virtually worthless and the fillér coins are no longer in circulation.

The forint was replaced as Hungary’s currency but reintroduced following World War II after hyperinflation crippled the pengő used during and prior to the war.

As a member of the European Union, Hungary should, at some point, adopt the euro as its national currency. Since Hungary has not yet joined ERM-II (a requirement for euro adoption), the single currency is unlikely to be used in Hungary prior to the 2020s. In a survey of public opinion by the European Commission in 2015, 60% of Hungarians were in favour of replacing the forint with the euro.

Hungarians are mostly concerned with the value of their currency against the euro, since nearly 80% of Hungarian exports go to the euro area. Since the euro’s introduction in 1999, the EUR/HUF exchange rate has traded between 227.29 (July 2008) and 326.64 (January 2015).

Against the world’s reserve currency, the US dollar, the forint was weakest in October 2000 when USD/HUF reached 317.56. The currency was strongest in July 2008 when USD/HUF fell to 143.39.

HUF News, Forecasts and Trends

The below interactive chart shows the USD to HUF exchange rate, trend and recent alerts for the last 90 days.

U$1,000 USD
=
Ft314,165 HUF

Converted at USD/HUF wholesale exchange rate, compare foreign transfer and spend/travel exchange rates.

Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for Hungary

Hungary is still considered to be a really good value travel destination. You can still get by on a shoestring budget staying in a dorm, having a meal, and doing an excursion each day. That doesn't mean to say there's nothing there for the more well-heeled traveller, Budapest has boutique hotels, fine dining restaurants, cafes and bars, plus the famous thermal baths sprinkled around the city.

The official currency is the Forint (Ft), and its still possible to get by on daily budget of 12,000ft, which is significantly less than one could get by on in western Europe.

Credit cards are widely accepted in the capital but as always, carry some cash or a travel card especially if you are travelling outside of Budapest. Euros are generally accepted but stay aware of the exchange rate as it is unlikely that you will be getting a good rate when you spend Euros.

At present, you can not preload hungarian forint onto a travel card, but you can pre-load with Euros and spend Euros. Be aware, dynamic currency conversion will occur when you make a purchase or withdrawal in Euros, and often this will cost more. The upside is you will know exactly what you will be paying at the time of purchase.

Travel money for Hungary

Save money and time by Ordering your Hungarian Forint online from Travelex, you get better rates and can pick up the HUF cash locally or even on travel day at the airport.

Another popular option is to use a Pre-paid Travel Card. Your Debit/Credit Card provider will charge you 2% from market mid-rate, but your bank may also charge an extra 3% as an “Overseas Transaction Charge” plus “Overseas ATM” fees for withdrawing cash.

For card purchases if offered a choice of currencies always select to Pay in Hungarian Forint otherwise you may get much worst exchange rates.

Sending money to Hungary

When searching around for information on how to get a good exchange rate when sending money to Hungary you need to start with finding out the latest Hungarian Forint exchange rate for foreign-transfers, which can be very different to the wholesale rate.

Then compare your bank's exchange rates to several licensed FX providers exchange rate and fees to see how much you can save - we make that calculation easy in the below table.

Get a better deal for foreign transfers to Hungary

When sending money to Hungary it’s important to compare your bank’s rates & fees with those we have negotiated with our partner money transfer providers. To get a better deal you should follow these 4 simple steps :

1. Open an account with a BER reviewed FX provider (id docs may be required)
2. You specify the local or Hungarian Forint amount you want to transfer
3. Make a local currency domestic transfer for the requested amount to the provider's bank account in your country
4. Once your funds are received by the provider the converted HUF amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in Hungary.

Use the above Send to Hungarian Forint calculator to compare the exchange rates of FX specialist providers rates versus your bank's standard rates you can hopefully save around 5% and maybe more - end result is more Hungarian Forint deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!