Changing AUD to USD in Australia: the cheapest way, and what the rest cost you

AUD → USD

The spread takes 0 AUD if you convert inside your account with Bendigo Bank, and 22.46 AUD at Commonwealth Bank's banknote desk.

Same money, same day — a 48.45 AUD difference for choosing how you pay rather than where.

Every figure is read from a bank's own published board, or derived from a margin it discloses — named in the evidence column, never inferred. We do not rank by any commercial relationship; the order below is the rate, and nothing else.

Which method costs least

This is the choice worth the most money, and the one most comparisons skip. Cash desks sit several points above card and transfer rates in every country we measure.

MethodCheapest hereCosts youHow we know
Transfer / account conversion
What the bank converts at when the money moves between accounts.
Bendigo Bank 0 AUD read from www.bendigobank.com.au
Pay by card
The rate your card issuer converts at, plus the fee it discloses.
Commonwealth Bank 22.46 AUD 3.5% disclosed fee, checked 2026-07-23
Buy banknotes at a branch
The bank's own banknote board — the widest spread of the three, everywhere we measure.
Commonwealth Bank 22.46 AUD read from www.commbank.com.au

Cash withdrawals at an ATM are left out on purpose: they carry a per-withdrawal fee we do not collect, so listing them beside the others would flatter them.

Every bank's transfers rate

If you have to use a branch anyway, this is the order to try them in — 4 banks, cheapest first. The dearest takes 7.9% more than the cheapest.

BankBuys USDSells USDCosts you
Bendigo Bank own board 1.4745 1.3407 0 AUD
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.bendigobank.com.au.
Suncorp Bank own board 1.4671 1.3535 0 AUD
Read from the board this bank publishes at api.suncorp.com.au.
Bank of Queensland own board 1.4671 1.3535 0 AUD
Read from the board this bank publishes at api.suncorp.com.au.
Commonwealth Bank own board 1.3659 1.4522 14.42 AUD
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.commbank.com.au.
2026-09-03 2026-09-16 1.3535 1.3280
Cheapest (green), median (dashed) and dearest (red) selling rate on each day — 4 days on which at least two banks published, 2026-09-03 to 2026-09-16. This is why we can say who stays cheapest, not just who is cheapest today.

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Rates are AUD per 1 USD; "costs you" is the part of your amount the spread absorbs, against 1.4103, the reference these banks price from. Collection began 2026-06-24. Indicative information for comparison, not financial advice. What each country's rates are officially anchored to is on the references page. Generated 2026-09-16.