RateCheck

GBP to USD — compare your quote with the mid-market rate

British Pound → US Dollar

Sterling to the dollar is one of the most quoted pairs in the world, so liquidity is deep and the wholesale spread is a few pips. A retail quote more than 1% from the mid is mostly provider margin.

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Recipient gets at the mid-market rate
1,329.79USD
For 1,000 GBP · 1 GBP = 1.3298 USD
Enter the rate you were quoted above to see the gap from the mid-market rate.
Spot mid source: fallback · Indicative only

About the GBP/USD pair

This page shows today’s wholesale GBP/USD mid-market rate beside the rate a bank, broker, or kiosk has quoted you. The result is the gap between the two, as a percentage and an amount, in four tiers: under 0.3%, 0.3–1%, 1–3% and over 3% of the amount. The mid-market rate is the rate banks trade at, not a rate you can transact at directly — providers add their margin on top, and that margin is the gap RateCheck shows.

Who sends money on this route

Sterling goes to dollars for UK exporters and freelancers with US clients, for families paying US college fees, and for Britons with property in Florida or on the West Coast.

UK businesses pay for US software, advertising platforms and cloud services in dollars, and many UK residents hold US shares whose purchases settle in dollars.

What moves GBP/USD

The Bank of England and the Federal Reserve set the policy rates. The pair tracks the gap between them and how markets see that gap changing.

UK inflation, wage data and the Bank's decision are the sterling-side releases. On the dollar side, the monthly jobs report, consumer price inflation and the Fed meeting carry the weight.

GBP/USD, known in the market as cable, is deep and liquid, but the pound is prone to sharp moves on domestic political and fiscal news, and the dollar strengthens when global markets turn defensive.

How to read a quote

Cable is quoted as dollars per pound to four decimal places. When sending pounds, a customer rate below the mid-market rate means fewer dollars delivered, and the gap is the provider's margin.

Bank margins are commonly a few per cent; specialist providers are often under one per cent. A difference of a single cent per pound is close to one per cent of the amount, so small-looking gaps matter on larger sums.

Common questions

How far is my GBP/USD quote from the mid-market rate?+
Compare the rate you've been quoted with the live mid-market GBP/USD rate — the wholesale rate banks trade at. RateCheck shows the gap as a percentage and an amount, in four tiers: under 0.3%, 0.3–1%, 1–3% and over 3% of the amount.
How much do banks and brokers charge to convert British pound to US dollar?+
Retail bank margins on international transfers are commonly a few per cent; specialist providers are often under one per cent. The margin is built into the exchange rate, usually on top of any fixed transfer fee, and is rarely shown separately. RateCheck shows it as the gap between your quote and the mid-market GBP/USD rate.
Is the mid-market GBP/USD rate the rate I'll actually get?+
No. The mid-market (interbank) rate is the wholesale reference; providers add their margin on top. It's the rate the gap is measured from, not a rate you can transact at directly.
Why is GBP/USD called cable?+
The name dates from the transatlantic telegraph cable that carried sterling-dollar prices between London and New York in the nineteenth century. Traders still use the term.
Does a US bank charge to receive pounds converted to dollars?+
Some US banks apply an incoming wire fee, and intermediary banks may deduct charges. Sending dollars already converted means the receiving bank does not apply its own exchange rate.
What is a pip in a GBP/USD quote?+
A pip is the fourth decimal place of the rate. Wholesale spreads are measured in a pip or two; a retail margin of one cent is a hundred pips, which shows how much of a customer quote is margin rather than market.

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