How to Exchange Money at a Bank or Exchange Office in French
Learn to say you want to exchange dollars for euros, ask about the rate and fees, and handle a counter exchange in French, distinct from using an ATM.
By SofiaGetting around · Yapr Learn
At a French bank counter or a bureau de change, you will need a few set phrases: saying what you want to exchange, asking the exchange rate, and checking the commission. This lesson gives you those phrases with pronunciation and a short dialogue. It covers counter exchanges only, not withdrawing cash from an ATM, which uses different vocabulary such as retrait and code.
By the end, you can…
- say I would like to exchange dollars for euros at a counter.
- ask what the exchange rate is and whether there is a commission.
- understand and respond to simple questions about my passport and the amount.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Je voudrais échanger des dollars contre des euros.
I would like to exchange dollars for euros.
zhuh voo-DREH ay-shahn-ZHAY day DOO-lar kontr day uh-ROH
Polite and standard at a bank counter or bureau de change. Use contre for the currency you receive.
Quel est le taux de change ?
What is the exchange rate?
kel eh luh TOH duh SHAHNZH
Ask this before agreeing. The answer is usually a number of euros per dollar, for example un euro dix pour un dollar.
Il y a une commission ?
Is there a commission?
eel ya ewn koh-mee-SYOHN
Many exchange offices charge a fixed fee or a percentage. Il y a is the common spoken form of 'there is / are'.
Je voudrais changer cent dollars, s'il vous plaît.
I would like to change one hundred dollars, please.
zhuh voo-DREH shahn-ZHAY sahn DOO-lar seel voo PLEH
State the amount after changer. S'il vous plaît keeps the request polite.
Voici mon passeport.
Here is my passport.
vwah-SEE mohn pah-spor
Banks and exchange offices in France normally ask for identity documents for cash exchanges. Voici means 'here is'.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
Use Je voudrais + infinitive to make a polite request: Je voudrais échanger des dollars contre des euros. You can replace the currencies: échanger des livres contre des euros, échanger des euros contre des dollars. For the amount, add the number after changer: Je voudrais changer deux cents dollars. To ask about the rate, use Quel est le taux de change ? and to ask about fees, Il y a une commission ?
When to use it
Use these phrases at a counter with a person, for example in a bank or a bureau de change. Say Bonjour first, then Je voudrais échanger... At the end, Merci, au revoir. This is different from an ATM, where you do not speak to anyone: there you would look for a distributeur automatique and use words like retirer de l'argent and votre code. At a counter, you can ask about the taux and the commission before you hand over your money.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Bonjour, je voudrais échanger des dollars contre des euros.
Hello, I would like to exchange dollars for euros.bohn-ZHOOR, zhuh voo-DREH ay-shahn-ZHAY day DOO-lar kontr day uh-ROHTrès bien. Combien de dollars ?
Very well. How many dollars?treh BYEN. kohn-BYEN duh DOO-larDeux cents dollars. Quel est le taux de change ?
Two hundred dollars. What is the exchange rate?duh sahn DOO-lar. kel eh luh TOH duh SHAHNZHUn euro dix pour un dollar, et il y a une commission de cinq euros. Votre passeport, s'il vous plaît.
One euro ten per dollar, and there is a five-euro commission. Your passport, please.uhn uh-ROH dees poor uhn DOO-lar, ay eel ya ewn koh-mee-SYOHN duh sank uh-ROH. votr pah-spor, seel voo PLEHA little context goes a long way
In France, banks and bureaux de change usually ask for a passport or identity card for cash exchanges, and rates plus commissions vary widely. Exchange offices in tourist areas may advertise 'no commission' but offer a weaker rate, so compare the final amount. Outside France, for example in Belgium or Switzerland, the same phrases work, but the currency names change: des francs suisses in Switzerland.
One thing to watch for
Saying Je veux échanger des dollars pour des euros, using pour and the blunt Je veux.
Try this instead: Use the polite Je voudrais and the preposition contre: Je voudrais échanger des dollars contre des euros. Pour is used for other meanings, such as partir pour Paris, not for the currency you receive in an exchange.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you politely say you would like to exchange dollars for euros?
Show a sample answer
Je voudrais échanger des dollars contre des euros.
Je voudrais is the polite request form, and contre introduces the currency you receive. Je veux is grammatically possible but sounds abrupt at a counter.
2Ask what the exchange rate is.
Show a sample answer
Quel est le taux de change ?
This is the standard question. You may also hear C'est combien, le taux ? in casual speech, but the full question is safer for learners.
3Ask whether there is a commission.
Show a sample answer
Il y a une commission ?
Il y a is the usual spoken way to ask 'is there'. In more formal writing you might see Y a-t-il une commission ?, but the simple form is fine at a counter.
At a counter, start with Bonjour, use Je voudrais échanger... contre..., ask Quel est le taux de change ? and Il y a une commission ?, and have your passport ready. This is separate from ATM use, where you would look for a distributeur and use retirer de l'argent.
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