Best Place to Exchange Money in Reykjavik

Where to change money in Reykjavik

Few visitors to Reykjavik need to change notes. Visit Reykjavik, the tourist board, calls Iceland largely cashless, with cards taken almost everywhere. It points visitors to the main banks for exchange, normally open 09:00 to 16:00 on weekdays. We found no stand-alone bureau de change in the centre.

• Prosegur Change, Keflavik Airport arrivals hall - Before security, first floor. Open 05:00 to 22:00 from 1 October to 30 April and 05:00 to 01:00 from 1 May to 30 September. Isavia shut the second branch, in the departures shopping area, in November 2025, as most trade had become visitors selling leftover kronur.
• Islandsbanki branches - The bank says its branches sell all major currencies, and asks for a few days' notice for a very large sum. It does not say whether you need an account, so ask first.

Changing money at the airport

Keflavik Airport (KEF) is about 50 km from central Reykjavik. Its cash machines run 24 hours a day. Prosegur Change in arrivals is now the only exchange counter, and the tourist board calls the service limited, adding that most travellers find a cash machine simpler and often cheaper.

Flybus leaves for the BSI bus terminal 40 minutes after every arrival and takes about 45 minutes. An adult ticket costs ISK 3,999 to BSI or ISK 5,299 with a drop at selected hotels, on a price list that may change. Buy online or at the Flybus desks in arrivals and at BSI, by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay; krona cash is taken only at the airport counter. Taxis wait outside arrivals at any hour and all take cards and phone payments, but the airport publishes no fare, so ask the driver for an estimate.

ATMs and cards in Reykjavik

The tourist board says contactless is common but that bigger bills may call for chip and PIN, so check you know yours. Visit Iceland adds that most petrol stations, many of them unstaffed, accept only a debit or credit card with a PIN, never cash.

Cash machines are easy to find in the city, says Visit Reykjavik, but no source gives the charge for a foreign card, so look up your own bank's overseas fees. If a card machine or cash machine offers to bill you in pounds, pick kronur: MoneySavingExpert notes that taking pounds lets the retailer set the rate, usually a worse one than your card's.

Paying for transport in Reykjavik

Since 1 June 2025, Straeto's city buses in the capital area have not taken cash. Tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard or Europay card as you board, or use the Klappid app or a Klapp card. An adult single is ISK 690 on Straeto's price list, and one tap buys one adult ticket, so each traveller needs a card of their own. Keep to the same card and fare capping stops charging after three rides in a day or nine in a week.

Route 55 between the airport and the capital area works differently. The cash ban covers city buses, not rural services, and Straeto lists the adult fare to Reykjavik as ISK 2,400, payable by card or in cash. Isavia gave the trip to BSI as 1 hour 20 minutes in June 2024, and not every journey goes to BSI, so read the timetable first.

Good to know

• Tipping is not the custom. Iceland Review says you need not feel obliged even where a cafe has a tip jar, and Visit Reykjavik says guides and servers appreciate a tip, in any money, for exceptional service.
• If you live outside Iceland, you can reclaim VAT on goods totalling ISK 12,000 or more including VAT, counting items on one receipt together. Show the goods, tax-free form and receipt to Prosegur Change at KEF before checking in bags; the goods must leave Iceland within three months.
• Prices are steep: Statistics Iceland found food and soft drinks cost 56% more than the EU average in 2025.
• Tap water is clean and free all over Iceland, so carry a refillable bottle.