The Best Places to Exchange Currency at Melbourne Airport

Currency Exchange Melbourne Airport

Rushing for your flight and need to know where to make your airport currency exchange? In this short guide we show you where to buy your foreign currency and how to get a better exchange rate.

Beat the airport exchange rates with a prepaid travel card

The aiport can be the most convenient option for buying travel money, but that convenience comes at a price: worse exchange rates and hidden fees.

With a prepaid travel card from Wise, you get the market exchange rate (the one you see on Google) with low fees and complete transparency.

How to Exchange Currency at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport

There are two ways you can change money:

 

1. Order your currency ahead of time and pick it up at the airport

This is by far, the cheapest way to buy currency at Melbourne airport. The exchange rates are much better than buying it over the counter.

It's really easy:

  1. Order your currency online and choose a pick up location as Melbourne Airport
  2. Pay for it using BPAY (and avoid the card fee!)
  3. Pick up your ordered currency

Please keep in mind, you'll avoid the card fee if you choose BPAY. The rate is locked in on the day you book the transaction. You can choose your pick up date, but if you use BPAY, you'll need to allow at least 3 business days. Also, they offer a better rate for amounts above $2,000, but have a maximum transaction size of $5,000.

Order Currency

2. In Store

Melbourne airport offers two foreign currency exchangers Travelex and ANZ, where you can buy or sell currency. There are 10 outlets in total across Terminals 1, 2 and 3. To find our more about Travelex read our full review.

 

Currency Exchange Places in Melbourne Tullamarine Airport

Travelex

There are 8 Travelex outlets in the Melbourne Airport for currency exchange. There 7 in the International airport, Terminal 2 and 1 outlet in Terminal 1 (Qantas).

  • Before security, near counter H, Level 1
  • Before security, near counter B, Level 1
  • Before security, near counter B, Level 1
  • After security screening, opposite TRS counter, Level 1
  • After security screening, between gates 2 and 4, Level 1
  • After security screening, near gates 6 and 10, Level 1
  • At international arrivals, Ground Level next to the Villa and Hut
  • For domestic travellers, there is a Travelex in the Qantas Terminal 1, just beyond security screening

Hours Open: From 3am to midnight for most stores within Terminal 2

You can pay using Australian dollars, eftpos, credit cards like Visa Mastercard and Diners

Travelex have a stock of US dollars (USD), British pounds (GBP) and Euros (Euros)

They will display a list of the foreign exchange rates they are offering at the front of each store

ANZ

There are many ANZ foreign currency exchange outlets at the Melbourne Tullamarine Airport, Terminal 2.

  • Before security, Level 1
  • After security screening, Level 1
  • At international arrivals, Ground Level

Hours Open: From 7am on weekdays and 8am on weekends

You can pay using Australian dollars, eftpos, credit cards like Visa and Mastercard

They will display a list of the foreign exchange rates they are offering at the front of each store

Tips to help you get a better rate

  1. 1

    Plan ahead

    The best exchange rates are usually online or in the city. If you plan ahead, you can compare exchange rates online or over the phone, find the best deal and arrange to either buy it in person or online (picking it up later).
  2. 2 

    Avoid the worst fees

    Travelex don't charge commission over the counter, however their exchange rates are considerably worse than outside Melbourne airport. For online transactions they have a 0.8% card fee.

     

    If you are buying currency online, choose to pay through BPAY to avoid the card fee. Please note that if you're going to use this option you need to allow 3-4 business days before your trip to allow time to pick it up in time.

  3. 3 

    Buy abroad instead?

    In some cases, it's cheaper to buy your currency in the country you're going to rather than converting it before you leave. Good examples are Bali, Singapore and New Zealand (depending on where you go). Of course, it's a lot harder to find the best exchange rate when you're outside Australia and you run a higher risk of being scammed.As a rule of thumb, the further away you are travelling, the less likely you'll find a better exchange rates overseas. This is because the further away from Australia you go, the less common Australian notes and coins are. As a result, they are also less likely to give you a good exchange rate.

Quick Comparison from Cheapest to Most Expensive

We compare 4 available options to purchase foreign currency at Melbourne airport and rank them for you:

  1. Ordering online through Travelex and paying by BPay is the cheapest option. This is because the online exchange rates are far better than at Melbourne airport. By using Bpay, you also avoid the 1% card fee. Please note that you need to order it at least 3-4 days in advance.
  2. Ordering online through Travelex and paying using a card is still the second best option, despite having to pay the card fee. This isn't a bad way to buy currency if you need it last minute, because you can order it today and pick it up tomorrow.
  3. ANZ has a better exchange rate over the counter than Travelex for a small amount of US dollars. This makes it a cheaper option even if you include their 1% commission.
  4. The most expensive option is using Travelex in-store. Even though they don't charge a commission, the exchange rate for converting Aussie dollars to US dollars is so terrible, it ends up being more expensive. Fortunately, they do provide better exchange rates for larger amounts.

Pre Order Currency & Pick Up at Melbourne Airport

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The Ultimate Guide to Currency Exchange in Australia

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Ileana Ionescu
Author
Ileana Ionescu
Content manager
With a background in business journalism, Ileana is an experienced content manager, creating content for Exiap that helps its audience make informed decisions about their finances.
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Last updated
November 2nd, 2023