Best Place to Exchange Money in Riyadh

Where to change money in Riyadh

SAMA, Saudi Arabia's central bank, requires every licensed money exchange centre, Category A or B, to buy and sell foreign notes for customers. No named Riyadh exchange business could be confirmed from two independent sources, so compare the rate at two counters before changing a large sum.

• Licensed money exchange centres - Under SAR 5,000, staff need only see valid ID. Above that a visitor's passport is copied, entry stamp and visa number included, and from SAR 50,000 a foreigner must deal through a formal membership. Your receipt should name the exchanger and show the rate, both amounts and the date and time.
• Banks - SAMA points anyone changing more than an exchange centre's limits to the local banks. Branch hours, and whether you need an account, were not confirmed.

Changing money at the airport

We found no official list of currency desks or cash machines at King Khalid International Airport (RUH), so land with a card that works abroad. For riyals on arrival, Which? suggests a bank's machine over a standalone one, and the local currency whenever the screen offers pounds.

Saudi airport taxis are green and licensed, and a scheme announced in 2019 gave them their own bays in front of departures and arrivals (Saudi Gazette). No official fare was found, so settle the price before setting off.

ATMs and cards in Riyadh

Contactless has taken over. In October 2024 a Visa regional president told Arab News that 98 per cent of in-person card payments in the kingdom were contactless, against 4 per cent in 2017. In May 2025 the paper said electronic payments made up 70 per cent of retail consumer transactions in 2023, with Mada Pay, Apple Pay and stc pay among the leading phone wallets.

Mada is the domestic debit network, and our sources do not show that every till takes a UK Visa or Mastercard as readily, so carry a second card and a little cash. We found no published Saudi charge for foreign cards in cash machines, so check your own bank's fee before you go. Offered pounds at a card terminal? Keep it in riyals: Which? explains that the local currency leaves the rate to Visa or Mastercard instead of the shop.

Paying for transport in Riyadh

The Riyadh Metro's Red Line (King Abdullah Road) and Green Line (King Abdulaziz Road) opened to the public on 15 December 2024, and the Orange Line on Madinah Road followed on 5 January 2025, completing six lines and 85 stations. Trains run daily from 6 am to midnight (Arab News, Saudi Gazette). Tickets are sold in the Darb app and at station ticket windows and machines, and Arab News reported in July 2025 that riders can also tap a contactless card. It did not say whether cards issued abroad work, so install Darb as a back-up. We could not open an official fare table, so check prices in the app.

For city buses, Saudi Gazette reported at their March 2023 launch that a ticket cost SR4 and lasted two hours from first boarding; confirm the current fare in Darb.

Good to know

• The FCDO lists three routes for British visitors: a tourist eVisa (a year's validity, up to 90 days in total, health cover to SAR 100,000), an electronic travel authorisation (730 days) or an electronic visa waiver (one entry of up to 180 days, sought at least 48 hours before the flight). Your passport needs 6 months left on arrival.
• The FCDO advises against travel only near the Yemen border, far to the south, but names Riyadh among places facing a heightened threat to airports and other infrastructure, so read its latest advice before you fly.
• Riyadh is Saudi Arabia's most populous city, ahead of Jeddah, in the 2022 census results (Saudi Gazette, May 2023).