Donating Foreign Currency: A Simple and Hassle-Free Guide

Posted by: Ian • 9 Sep 2025

Just back from a holiday with a pocketful of strange coins and notes? Before you shove them in a drawer and forget all about them, consider this: you can turn that leftover foreign currency into real support for charities. Donating foreign currency is a surprisingly powerful way to make a difference, transforming your forgotten travel money into meaningful change for people who need it most. Our service makes it fast, easy, and completely hassle-free.

Turn Leftover Holiday Money Into Lasting Impact

Every year, millions of pounds worth of foreign currency just sits around in UK homes, completely unused. We’ve all done it. The euros from a weekend break, the dollars from a work trip, or the yen from that once-in-a-lifetime holiday often end up in a jar on the shelf. While these amounts might feel small on their own, when you add them all up, they represent a huge, untapped resource for brilliant causes.

Our service is designed to be fast, easy, and completely hassle-free, unlocking that hidden potential.

We make it simple to exchange foreign coins and notes, and that even includes obsolete currency that's no longer in circulation. You don't have to waste time sorting through different denominations or wondering if a coin is still valid. Just bag it all up, and we'll handle the rest with a 100% guarantee that the full exchange value goes directly to the charity you've chosen.

Why Your Small Change Matters So Much

It’s easy to look at a few foreign coins and think they won’t make much of a difference, but their combined power is incredible. When you donate your foreign currency, you're tapping into a nationwide spirit of generosity. The UK has a long history of contributing to global aid; in 2024 alone, the government allocated around £14.1 billion to Official Development Assistance, relying on national funds and foreign currency donations to support humanitarian work. Your donation, no matter the size, becomes part of this bigger picture.

This table shows just how straightforward the journey is from your pocket to making a real impact.

Your Donation Journey From Pocket to Impact

See how simple it is to turn your leftover currency into a powerful donation with our secure and straightforward process.

Your Simple Step	Our Secure Process	The Charitable Impact
Gather Your Currency: Just collect all your leftover foreign coins and banknotes, including old or obsolete ones. No need to sort!	We Handle the Rest: Our team securely receives, sorts, counts, and exchanges every piece of currency for you.	Funding Vital Work: The full sterling value is sent directly to your chosen charity to fund their essential projects.
Send It To Us: Pop your currency in the post or use one of our convenient collection points.	Transparent Conversion: We ensure you get the best possible exchange rate, guaranteeing 100% of the value is processed.	Making a Difference: Your small change becomes part of a larger donation that provides food, shelter, or medical aid.

Our process is built on trust, which is why we’re the go-to service for major UK organisations—from leading charities and national supermarkets to airports and even police forces—who count on us to securely convert foreign currency into charitable funds.

This trust is built on a foundation of reliability and transparency. We ensure that every coin and note is processed efficiently, converting your leftover holiday money into sterling that can fund crucial projects.

By choosing to donate foreign coins to charity, you’re doing more than just clearing out some clutter. You’re actively taking part in a cycle of giving that creates a lasting positive impact. If you're still weighing up your options, you can find more great ideas in our guide on what to do with leftover holiday money.

How Our Hassle-Free Donation Process Works

We believe that donating foreign currency should be straightforward and rewarding, not a chore. That’s why we’ve designed our service to be fast, easy, and completely hassle-free. Forget spending hours sorting through a jumble of different coins or worrying about whether the notes are still in circulation. We've built our process on simplicity and trust.

All you need to do is gather your leftover foreign currency—it doesn’t matter if it’s coins, banknotes, current, or obsolete. We accept it all. The next step is getting it to us, and we offer convenient, free options to make that easy too.

This quick guide shows the simple journey your donation takes, from your home to making a real impact.

As you can see, the entire process is designed for efficiency, ensuring your contribution gets to work as quickly as possible.

Your Currency’s Journey

Once your collection arrives safely with us, our expert team takes over. We securely handle, count, and sort every single piece of currency.

This is where our 100% guarantee comes into play. We meticulously process everything to make sure the maximum value is realised for your chosen charity. Our experience allows us to convert foreign coins and banknotes that many other services would reject, including old pre-Euro money like German Marks or French Francs.

After the conversion is complete, the full sterling amount is transferred directly to the charity you’ve chosen. It’s a transparent journey, trusted by major UK brands like supermarkets, airports, charities, and even police forces who rely on us for secure currency processing.

Our commitment is to turn every bit of your forgotten travel money into vital funds. We handle the complexities so you can focus on the impact you’re making. It’s a truly hands-off way to donate foreign coins to charity.

Ready to get started? Just package your currency securely – a padded envelope or small box works perfectly for mixed coins and notes. Then, head over to our homepage to generate your free postage label and send your donation on its way.

Unlocking the Value in Obsolete Currency

Ever found old French Francs, German Marks, or Spanish Pesetas tucked away in a drawer? It’s a common mistake to think these pre-Euro currencies are now worthless, but that’s a myth that could be costing UK charities a fortune. We specialise in finding value where others can’t, helping you exchange foreign coins and notes, whether they're still in circulation or long obsolete.

You'd be surprised how much hidden potential is sitting in old coin jars and travel wallets. We regularly convert foreign coins and banknotes that are no longer in circulation into substantial donations, giving forgotten funds a new purpose.

Why Old Currency Still Matters

The value of old money isn't just about what it can buy over the counter. Many of these currencies are sought after by collectors, or they can still be redeemed through specific national bank programmes. We have the expertise to navigate this often-complex process, making sure every last coin contributes to a good cause.

By sending us your obsolete money, you’re unlocking its dormant financial power for charities that desperately need it. We make it fast and easy to ensure nothing goes to waste.

Our 100% guaranteed service makes donating foreign currency completely hassle-free. There's no need to sort through your collection or figure out what’s valuable—we handle everything for you from start to finish.

If you’re curious to learn more, our detailed guide on what to do with old foreign currency breaks it all down.

The Trusted Choice for UK Charities and Major Brands

When you’re looking to donate foreign currency, you want to be certain it’s in safe hands. It’s not just about getting rid of old holiday money; it’s about making sure your contribution is handled securely, processed correctly, and actually makes a difference.

That’s why so many of the UK’s leading organisations work directly with us. Our service isn’t just designed to be fast and easy—it’s built on a foundation of solid reliability. This has earned us the trust of major charities, national supermarkets, airports, and even UK police forces.

These respected institutions depend on our 100% guaranteed service for everything from public collection tins to managing seized or found foreign currency. They choose us because our systems are built for total security and transparency, ensuring every single donation is looked after. We provide a solution that lets them focus on their vital work, knowing we’ll handle the tricky process to convert foreign coins and banknotes accurately.

A Reputation Built on Performance

Our partnerships speak for themselves. Imagine a national charity after a big fundraising campaign. They might end up with thousands of mixed coins from all over the world. Instead of tying up their own team for hours trying to sort and exchange it all, they simply send the entire unsorted collection to us.

We take care of everything, provide a clear, transparent report, and transfer the full sterling value straight to them. It’s this level of service that makes us the go-to choice for organisations that need to exchange foreign coins and notes on a large scale.

This trust is absolutely vital, especially when public confidence in charitable giving is so important. The good news is that public trust in UK charities remains high, which creates a really supportive environment for initiatives like donating foreign currency. In fact, research from the Charity Commission revealed that in 2025, 57% of people reported high trust in charities, with the average score holding steady at 6.5 out of 10. You can read more about these findings on the public trust in charities on GOV.UK page.

By choosing a service that’s already vetted and used by major brands, you can be sure your donation is processed with the same integrity and professionalism. We offer a secure and reliable way to donate foreign coins to charity.

When you send us your leftover currency, you’re using the exact same trusted service that helps large organisations maximise their fundraising. Join them and turn that forgotten holiday money into a meaningful contribution.

Practical Tips to Maximise Your Donation

So, you’ve decided to donate foreign currency – that's a brilliant first step. Now, let’s talk about how to make sure your contribution really counts. With a few straightforward tips, you can turn that forgotten travel money into a significant donation, and the whole process will be quick and completely hassle-free.

One of the best ways to boost your donation is to get others involved. Why not organise a collection drive at your workplace, school, or local community club? You’d be surprised how many people have leftover foreign currency tucked away in drawers. They're often more than happy to pop it into a collection box for a good cause if you make it easy for them.

Packaging and Sending Your Currency

When you’re ready to send everything off, the main things to think about are security and simplicity. The good news is you don’t need to do any sorting yourself. Our 100% guaranteed service takes care of all that for you.

Just Bag It All Up: Simply gather all your coins and notes. It doesn't matter if they’re current, old, or from dozens of different countries. There's no need to sort. We exchange foreign coins and notes of all kinds.
Package It Securely: A sturdy padded envelope or a small box taped up well is all you need. This just makes sure the coins don't rip through the packaging while they're on their way to us.
Use Our Free Service: We offer a free postage service, so sending your donation costs you absolutely nothing. This means every last bit of value from your currency goes directly to the charity.

By pooling your currency with friends, family, or colleagues, what starts as a few handfuls of coins can quickly grow into a really meaningful amount. It’s a perfect example of how small, collective efforts can create a major impact for charities.

These tips are all designed to make your donation experience as effortless and rewarding as possible. For a full rundown of how it all works and to get started, you can find out more about how to donate foreign currency to charity.

Got Questions About Donating Your Foreign Currency?

It’s completely normal to have a few questions when you decide to donate foreign currency. You want to be sure your kind gesture makes a real difference, and we’re here to make the whole process crystal clear.

We’ve designed our service to be quick, simple, and totally hassle-free, giving you confidence every step of the way.

Do I Need to Sort All My Coins and Notes First?

Absolutely not. In fact, that's one of the best parts of our service. Just gather up all your leftover foreign currency—coins, notes, it doesn't matter—and pop it all in a bag.

There’s no need to spend hours separating different currencies or figuring out what’s what. Our expert team takes care of all the sorting and counting for you. It's a core part of our 100% guaranteed service, saving you a huge amount of time and effort.

What Types of Currency Can I Donate?

Pretty much everything you can think of. Whether you want to exchange foreign coins and notes from your last holiday or you’ve found some old, pre-Euro currency like German Marks or Spanish Pesetas tucked away, we can convert it.

We accept:

All Foreign Coins: From every single country, no matter how small the value seems.
All Foreign Banknotes: This includes both current notes and any that are now out of circulation.
Obsolete and Withdrawn Currency: We even take old British and Irish money that’s no longer in use.

This all-inclusive approach means every single coin and note can contribute to your chosen charity. It’s why we’re trusted by some of the UK’s biggest brands, including major charities, supermarkets, airports, and even police forces, to handle their currency collections.

The real value of our service is the simplicity and trust we offer. You don’t need to be a currency expert to make a difference. Just send us your collection, and we’ll handle the rest, guaranteeing a secure and efficient conversion.

Our entire focus is on turning forgotten money into meaningful support. You can rest assured that your donation is in safe, experienced hands.

Get quick answers to some of the most common queries we receive about our currency donation service.

Question	Answer
Is there a minimum amount I can donate?	No, there are no minimums. Every single coin helps, so feel free to send any amount, big or small.
How long does the process take?	Once we receive your currency, we aim to process it and make the donation within just a few days. It's a fast turnaround.
Can I choose which charity my donation goes to?	Yes, you can. We partner with numerous charities, or you can nominate a specific cause you care about.
Is the service completely free?	Absolutely. There are no hidden fees or charges for you or the charity. Our service is 100% free.

We hope this helps! Our goal is to make the entire process as easy and transparent as possible for everyone involved.

Ready to turn that forgotten currency into vital support for a good cause? The process is fast, easy, and entirely free. Visit We Buy All Currency to get started on our homepage and make a real impact today.