Using a pawnbroker may not be your first thought when it comes to buying currency, but some are offering surprisingly good exchange rates for less popular currencies.
We took a closer look at two of the UK's leading pawnbrokers: H&T and The Money Shop to see how their exchange rates compared to the best and worst rates available online at the same time.
These comparisons took place on 26 September 2018.
| Currency | H&T Pawnbrokers rate | The Money Shop rate | Best online rate | Worst online rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Euros | 1.1191 | 1.1145 | 1.265 | 1.0746 |
| US dollars | 1.2868 | 1.2822 | 1.2953 | 1.2454 |
| Turkish lira | 7.5735 | 7.7492 | 7.7621 | 7.4290 |
| Bulgarian lev | 2.1572 | 2.1461 | 2.1715 | 2.01 |
| Icelandic krona | 142.308 | 143.289 | 143.801 | 134.159 |
The results were mixed. When it came to euros and US dollars, both pawnbrokers had very poor exchange rates that were around 13% lower than the best rate available online at the same time.
However, they did better on some of the minor currencies. H&T were only 0.6% away from the best online rate for Bulgarian lev, while The Money Shop were just 0.36% away from the top online rate for Icelandic krona.
Of course the convenience of being able to pick your currency up from a store might be the deciding factor on whether or not to use a pawnbroker for your travel money. If convenience is your thing, take a look at Ramdens exchange rates, or visit our comparison pages to see a full list of today's best exchange rates in the UK.
Whatever option you go for, remember to always reserve your currency online first before you buy. Many of the negative reviews we receive for pawnbrokers are from customers who walked in off the street expecting to get the online rate and were told they should have ordered online first.