Currency Converter 2026
Quickly convert any tuition figure, visa fee, or living cost you see on this site into your own currency — covers the 11 currencies most relevant to our immigration and study-abroad guides.
Reference Rates (early September 2026)
All rates below are expressed as "1 US Dollar equals":
| Currency | Rate per 1 USD |
|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 British Pound (GBP) | 0.74 |
| 🇪🇺 Euro (EUR) | 0.86 |
| 🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar (CAD) | 1.38 |
| 🇦🇺 Australian Dollar (AUD) | 1.39 |
| 🇳🇿 New Zealand Dollar (NZD) | 1.72 |
| 🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (INR) | 95.4 |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore Dollar (SGD) | 1.27 |
| 🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (AED) | 3.6725 (fixed peg) |
| 🇰🇷 South Korean Won (KRW) | 1,470 |
| 🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (JPY) | 154 |
These are reference rates for planning purposes, not live transactional rates. Currency markets move daily — always check current rates through your bank or a currency transfer service before making an actual payment or transfer. Page last reviewed September 11, 2026.
Avoiding the "Pay in Your Home Currency" Trap
When paying a tuition deposit, visa fee, or other cost by card abroad, terminals and payment portals often ask if you'd like to pay in your home currency instead of the local one — this is dynamic currency conversion (DCC), and it's almost always the more expensive choice. DCC providers embed a markup typically running 3-7% above the real market rate, separate from and in addition to any foreign transaction fee your card issuer charges. On a £15,000 UK tuition deposit, a 5% DCC markup alone costs roughly £750 more than declining it and letting your own card network handle the conversion.
The practical rule for any visa fee, deposit, or tuition payment: always decline the "pay in your home currency" prompt and choose the destination country's local currency instead, letting your card's own network (Visa, Mastercard) handle the conversion at its standard rate.
Sending a Large Tuition Payment or Deposit
For a tuition payment or deposit in the thousands (rather than a card purchase), a dedicated international transfer service (Wise, OFX, Xe) is usually meaningfully cheaper than a standard bank wire, since banks often embed a wider margin into their own "exchange rate" on top of a flat wire fee. Many universities also partner with a specific payment platform (like Flywire or Convera) specifically for international tuition payments — using the university's designated platform is often both cheaper and easier to reconcile with your admission record than an independent transfer, so check your offer letter or student portal before choosing a payment method independently.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
How current are these exchange rates?
This tool fetches live daily rates each time you load the page. If that live fetch fails for any reason, it falls back automatically to a fixed reference rate from mid-July 2026, and clearly labels which one it's showing. Either way, for anything transactional (an actual bank transfer, tuition payment, or visa fee payment), always confirm the exact rate through your bank or a currency service before proceeding.
Why might I see a fallback rate instead of a live one?
The live rate feed can occasionally be unreachable due to network issues or the third-party API being temporarily down. When that happens, this tool automatically falls back to a fixed reference rate and clearly labels it as such, so you always know whether you're looking at a live or fallback figure rather than being shown a stale number silently.
Should I pay a tuition deposit or visa fee in my home currency or the local one?
Always choose the local currency. Paying in your home currency triggers dynamic currency conversion (DCC), which typically adds a 3-7% markup on top of whatever foreign transaction fee your card already charges — a meaningful cost on a large payment like tuition or a visa fee.
Is a bank or a dedicated transfer service better for a large tuition payment?
Dedicated transfer services frequently offer rates much closer to the mid-market rate than traditional banks, which often apply larger margins for retail customers — worth comparing both before sending a large tuition or deposit payment.
Exchange rates shown are approximate reference rates, not live market rates, and should not be used for actual financial transactions. Always verify current rates with your bank or a licensed currency exchange service.