On this page (4 sections)
Where the bureaux and cash machines are
Currency exchange at Stansted is run by ChangeGroup, the bureau operator for Manchester Airports Group across its airports. You will find staffed branches landside, near check-in before security and over in arrivals, and airside in the departure lounge after the search, so you can change money whether you are heading out or just landed. There are also 26 cash machines around the building, and the general ones before and after security dispense pounds, euros and US dollars.
ChangeGroup carries more than 60 currencies, including the less common ones that high-street banks do not stock, though those need ordering online ahead so they are in stock for collection. It also runs a buy-back guarantee: for £5.99 you can sell unspent cash back at the same rate you bought it, which protects you if the rate moves while you are away. That is a fair use of the bureau. The walk-up exchange itself, as the next section explains, is not.
How the airport rate compares (badly)
The honest part, and the reason this page exists. The walk-up rate at an airport bureau is poor, several percentage points worse than the mid-market rate (the figure you see on Google or XE), and wider still on less common currencies. Traveller reviews of the Stansted counters are overwhelmingly negative on exactly this point, with people reporting they got far fewer euros for their pounds than the headline rate suggested.
Two things drive it, and both are worth understanding. First, "no commission" does not mean good value: the bureau makes its margin in the gap between its buy and sell prices, so a zero-commission rate with a wide spread is worse than a small commission with a tight one. Second, watch the standalone cash machines. Some offer to charge you in your home currency rather than pounds, a "dynamic currency conversion" that quietly builds in a bad rate. Always choose to be charged in pounds and decline the machine's own conversion. Independent consumer outlets like Which? and MoneySavingExpert make the same point year after year: the airport counter is the most expensive way to buy currency.
The cheaper ways to get cash
None of these is endorsed here, and each has its own fees, but every one of them beats the walk-up counter.
- Order online for airport collection. ChangeGroup's own online order gives you 0% commission and a better rate than walking up, held for collection at the airport with your reference and ID. It is the bureau's best use, sitting between the walk-up rate and the genuine alternatives.
- A travel card. Prepaid and app-based cards from Wise, Revolut, Monzo, Starling and similar convert at or near the mid-market rate, far better than a bureau. Top up in pounds, spend or withdraw in the local currency. Best for spending; each has its own small fees and ATM limits.
- Withdraw local cash at your destination. For most trips, an ATM where you land beats buying foreign cash at Stansted, even after your home bank's withdrawal fee. Check the destination's local ATM fees first.
- Your high-street bank, ordered ahead. UK banks usually beat the airport on common currencies if you order a few working days before you fly.
The same order-ahead logic applies to the duty-free shops, where reserving online beats the walk-up price. If you are carrying a large amount of cash either way, note there is a rule on declaring sums over a threshold at the border, covered on the UK customs page.
Do you even need cash?
For spending in the UK, often not. London's transport and almost every shop, cafe and taxi take contactless cards, including foreign ones, so a card covers nearly everything you will do. Euros are not accepted in UK shops or on transport (airport stores aside), so changing euros to spend here is not the question; the question is whether you need pounds in cash at all, and mostly you do not.
The sensible plan for most travellers is a fee-free card for spending and a small amount of pounds in cash for the rare cash-only stall or a tip. Foreign cards work on contactless, but check whether your bank charges a fee per transaction, because a no-fee travel card avoids that. For the train and coach into London, buy the ticket online ahead for the cheapest fare; the Stansted Express page covers how to pay and the fares. For the rest of the terminal, including the shops and food where you will actually spend, see the airport services hub and the restaurants and bars page.