How to Convert the British Pound to Dollars

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The official monetary currency for the United Kingdom is the British pound. The pound is also called the pound sterling. But there are a lot of currencies in the world, and you don't have to live in England to use the pound. Traveling requires you to exchange currencies, and it is not so easy as remembering that 10 pounds = 10 dollars. Currency rates change every day, even every hour, but they are still not difficult to calculate.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Understanding and Converting Exchange Rates

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  1. The value of a currency depends on the stock exchange rate at any given time. Real-time quotes can be found on the NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX stock exchanges or other financial websites, but the easiest way to see this is by simply Googling "Convert dollars to pounds." No matter where you find it, look up the current "dollars to pounds" exchange rate. It should look something like this: [1]
    • 1 GBP = 1.1200 USD ( 10/20/22, 2:00 PM EDT rate )
    • GBP Stands for Great British Pound. The symbol is "£." [2]
    • USD Stands for United States Dollar. The symbol is "$." [3]
  2. This is all you have to do to convert currencies. Think of it this way -- if , then , or So, for every pound, you end up with an extra 1.4 USD. So just multiply the amount in pounds by the conversion rate to get your number of dollars. Say you want to buy a £35 sweater in London's Heathrow Airport. In dollars, you'd be spending:
    • Conversion rate: 1 GBP = 1.4635 USD
    • £35 = ______ USD.
    • 35 * 1.4635
    • £35 = $51.22
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  3. Remember that currency rates can change by the minute, meaning your hand conversion may not be useful shortly after you find it. This is why the quickest and easiest method to use in converting currency is one of the free online converters. Many phones offer apps as well that are capable of keeping up with changing rates. [4]
    • Open your web browser. Clear the address line and type "currency converter." Several websites for currency conversion will appear.
    • Enter or click on British pound in the "from" column and enter or click on USD or dollar in the "to" field.
    • Enter the amount of currency you want to convert from pounds to dollars.
    • Click "convert" to get a perfect representation.
  4. There should be a date on the website to indicate the last update. If this is not within 24 hours of your current date, then don't use the site unless you only need rough estimates. [5] That said, sites like the NYSE will have to-the-minute rates, and should be trusted before any 3rd party sites.
  5. If you want to change pounds back to dollars, simply divide by the exchange rate. Make sure, however, that you're using the GBP → USD conversion rate, and not the USD → GBP rate. The former number tells you how many dollars one pound is worth, the later tells you how many pounds one dollar is worth. Think of it as dollars per pound vs. pounds per dollar -- they are based on the same information, but they are different numbers!
    • If you have dollars and want to convert to pounds, you can multiply the dollars by the USD → GBP conversion rate, OR divide it by the GBP → USD conversion rate.
  6. Currency prices are always in flux. This is because currency, like anything else, is a tradable good. Image a firm in London wants to sell to the US stores. In order to buy their goods, the US store must purchase the goods with pounds, then sell them for US dollar. This means that pounds are flowing out of England and being converted to other money, making the pounds left in England a more valuable good that the US has demand for. There are fewer pounds now, so the value of each pound goes up. Meanwhile, the US market, which spent pounds to get dollars, sees the USD decrease in value, since more of the wealth is in Dollars, giving them less demand. A high demand for a currency usually means that currency increases value. [6] Other things that affect currency include:
    • Concerns about the safety/health of the country's market (which is why a war-torn country has a low-value currency).
    • Amount of business interest or growth in a market.
    • Tourism.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Estimating Currency Conversions

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  1. The more decimals in your rate, the more precise your conversion will be. However, if you just need to make an estimation, you can use much simpler rates, like 1 GBP = 1.45 USD, to get a good idea of the conversion.
  2. For now, ignore the number after the decimal, and instead multiply the pounds by the whole number. So, if you're buying a £20 hat, and the exchange rate is 1.456042, start by multiplying 20 * 1. This is almost always 1 or 0 since the USD and GBP don't often vary by that much.
    • Problem: Estimate Conversion of £20 into USD using an exchange rate of 1.456042
    • Step 1: Multiply whole number of conversion rate by price in GBP.
      • £20 * 1 = £20.
  3. If you see a hat for £20 and want to know what it will cost you in dollars, you'll likely struggle to multiply 20 by 1.456042. But it will be much easier to multiply by 20 by 1.5, even if you know the final estimate will be a little higher than the actual answer. Note that the smaller your rounding, the more precise the answer will be.
    • Problem: Estimate Conversion of £20 into USD using an exchange rate of 1.456042
    • Step 1: Multiply whole number of conversion rate by price in GBP.
      • £20 * 1 = £20.
    • Step 2: Round conversion rate to manageable number.
      • 1.456042 → 1.5.
  4. This is really easy to do, though it seems complex. First, note that 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% + 10% = 50%. Second, remember that .1 is the same thing as 10%, meaning .5 is the same thing as 50%. So, if you need to find a tricky conversion decimal, simply find 10% and add it together until you reach the right percentage. And 10% is easy to find -- simply move the decimal one place to the left!
    • Problem: Estimate Conversion of £20 into USD using an exchange rate of 1.456042
    • Step 1: Multiply whole number of conversion rate by price in GBP.
      • £20 * 1 = £20.
    • Step 2: Round conversion rate to manageable number.
      • 1.456042 → 1.5.
    • Step 3: Find 10% of the price in pounds and add it until it matches your decimal.
      • £20 * 10% = £2
      • £2 * 5 = £10
  5. Since the whole number is usually 1, this means you simply find 10%, add as many as needed to match the decimal in the conversion rate, and add this to the amount in pounds. So, to finish the example problem:
    • Problem: Estimate Conversion of £20 into USD using an exchange rate of 1.456042
    • Step 1: Multiply whole number of conversion rate by price in GBP.
      • £20 * 1 = £20.
    • Step 2: Round conversion rate to manageable number.
      • 1.456042 → 1.5.
    • Step 3: Find 10% of the price in pounds and add it until it matches your decimal.
      • £20 * 10% = £2
      • £2 * 5 = £10
    • Step 4: Add together your whole number and your decimal conversions:
      • Whole: £20
      • Decimal: £10
      • Estimated Amount: £30 The actual conversion (using this rate) would be $29.12, meaning this was a useful estimation.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    If the exchange rate is 1 USD = 0.7221 GBP, how do I figure GBP to USD rate using the same USD to GBP rate?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    Use the reciprocal of the dollar-to-pound rate. That means in this case divide 1 by 0.7221.
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  • Question
    How do I convert dollars to British pounds?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    Use the current exchange rate and proceed as shown in Method 1, Step 5 above.
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    Thank you for your feedback.
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  • Question
    How do I convert dollars to pounds?
    Donagan
    Top Answerer
    A recent conversion factor is 0.8 pound to a dollar.
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    Thank you for your feedback.
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      Warnings

      • Beware of possible scams when using a private broker or foreign exchange brokerage houses in foreign countries.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/GBPUSD:CUR
      2. ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/pound-sign
      3. ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dollar%20sign
      4. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/advisor/money-transfer/currency-converter/gbp-usd/
      5. ↑ https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/GBP=
      6. ↑ https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/why-currency-exchange-rates-fluctuate
      7. http://www.unitconversion.org/currency/british-pounds-to-us-dollars-conversion.html

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      To convert the British pound to dollars, first go online to one of the stock exchange websites or another financial website to get the current currency exchange rate. Then, multiply the amount in pounds by the exchange rate to get the value in dollars. For example, if the exchange rate is 1 British pound to 1.4 dollars and you want to buy something for 35 pounds, you can multiply 35 times 1.4 to see that you’d be paying the equivalent of 49 dollars for it. Alternatively, just search for an online currency converter and let the internet do the math for you! For tips on how to estimate currency conversions using some shortcuts when you’re on the go, keep reading!

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