Australia Money

Money

Australian currency is known as the dollar, and the currency symbol is $. The dollar (called "the Australian dollar" and written AU$ or AUD when it is necessary to distinguish it from the currencies of other countries which call their currency the dollar too) is worth between 70 and 80 US cents. Its buying power in Australia is a little less than that of the US dollar in the US. No currency other than the dollar is commonly accepted for transactions in Australia; except for businesses in international terminals of airports, which may accept some of the major world currencies, ie. US dollars, British pounds, Euros, and possibly NZ dollars. Dedicated currency exchange outlets are widely available in major cities, and banks can also exchange most non-restricted currencies. There is no real black market in currency, and no need to even seek one out in any case. The smallest unit of currency that prices will be quoted in is the cent, which is worth $0.01. However Australia no longer has physical units of currency that allow for bills to be paid to the nearest cent. If the total of a transaction is not a multiple of 5 cents you pay to the nearest five cents unless you are paying by credit or debit card, in which case you will pay the exact total. Yes that does mean that when buying small quantities of very cheap items, it is possible to buy them for free, or get an extra 50ml of fuel in a tank. This tends to even out though, as half the time your total will be rounded up rather than down. The coin denominations are: 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 and $2. The note denominations are $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. Australian notes are produced in plastic polymer rather than paper. Cash dispensing Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) are available in almost every Australian town. You are likely to pay a surcharge for international cash withdrawals, and holders of Australian debit cards will also pay a surcharge if they use an ATM that is not operated by their own bank. Most ATMs only dispense $20 and $50 notes. Credit cards are widely accepted in Australia. Almost all large vendors such as supermarkets accept cards, as do many, but not all, small stores. Australian debit cards can also be used via a system known as EFTPOS. Any card showing the Cirrus or Maestro logos can be used at any terminal displaying those logos.

Australia's base trading hours are 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday. Australia's weekend is on Saturdays and Sundays of each week. Retail trading is now almost universal on weekends, although with slightly reduced hours. The city of Perth and some rural towns still severely restrict Sunday trading even of essentials. Australian banks are open weekdays 9am - 4pm only, often closing at 5pm on Fridays. Cash is available through Automatic Teller Machines 24 hours, and currency exchange outlets have extended hours and are open on weekends.