Interbank mid-market rate We compare bank & FX provider rates to this wholesale mid-market rate. Read more
ING predict GBP/USD should breach 1.50 this year. While risks remain in place (the negative headline news around the Scottish independence referendum; the ongoing risk of tariffs should UK government choose to deviate from EU labour laws) GBP-USD Forecasts
Comparing GBP/USD Exchange Rates
You should always check the total cost for any exchange rate you are provided by banks or FX specialists. These exchange rates almost always contain a margin from the wholesale GBP/USD rate ( interbank mid-rate) plus fixed or percentage fees.
These margins and fees can vary significantly for GBP to USD International Money Transfers, Travel Money and prepaid multi-currency Travel Card transactions. Note the total cost will also vary on the currencies and total amount being exchanged.
Calculate other GBP/USD amounts (from or to) at mid-market with our GBP to USD Calculator .
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How to get Good GBP to USD Exchange Rates
There are two important ways to save on Foreign Exchange, the first is minimising unnecessary or excessive costs and fees, and the other is to transact when the exchange rate is in your favour.
Reduce Excessive costs and fees
All foreign exchange providers charge a fee for providing their service and this fee is usually contained within the exchange rate margin (or difference to the mid-rate).
The transaction margin you end up being charged can be considerably reduced by around a few percent (of total amount being exchanged) for travel money and possibly over 5% to 6% when sending money. The exact potential savings depends on the currencies being exchanged and the amount you are transferring and if you are willing to shop around.
Our real-time foreign transfer and travel money/cards comparison calculators make shopping around easy and help you calculate how much you can save.
What is a good GBP to USD exchange rate?
This is always a difficult question as exchange rates are influenced by many factors, so a good method to consider the Pound Sterling vs US dollar current value is to look the GBP/USD historic rate and change over a range of periods.
The following table looks at the change in the GBP to USD exchange rate over periods from the previous week back to the last 10 years.
| GBP/USD | Change | Period |
|---|---|---|
| 1.3709 09 Apr 2021 | 0.9% ▲ | 1 Week |
| 1.3975 17 Mar 2021 | 1% ▼ | 30 Days |
| 1.3589 16 Jan 2021 | 1.8% ▲ | 90 Days |
| 1.2488 16 Apr 2020 | 10.8% ▲ | 1 Year |
| 1.4181 17 Apr 2016 | 2.5% ▼ | 5 Years |
| 1.6305 19 Apr 2011 | 15.2% ▼ | 10 Years |
GBP/USD 10 year historic rates & change to 16-Apr-2021 : 1.3832
Will the Pound Sterling rise against the US dollar?
It is almost impossible to predict what an exchange rate will do in the future, the best approach is to monitor the currency markets and transact when an exchange rate moves in your favour.
To help with this you can add GBP/USD to your BestExchangeRates My Rates Watchlist to track and benefit from currency movements.
Rather than requiring you to set a target rate, our FX Alerts work differently.
Once you add a currency pair for tracking in your watchlist we will automatically check the exchange rate for any UP▲ or DOWN▼ move over a range of periods over the recent 90 days.