Saudi Riyals
Get ready for your trip to Saudi Arabia. Order your Saudi Riyals at Manor FX today. Our great exchange rates mean you'll have more SAR cash to spend. Have your Saudi Riyal banknotes delivered securely to your home or office, or pick them up from the Manor FX bureau near Heathrow.
Manor FX offers fast delivery times and a fuss-free online ordering process for your Saudi riyal travel money.
Travel advise: payments in Saudi Arabia
Jet off well-informed to Saudi Arabia. Here are some handy facts about cash and card payments in Saudi Arabia.
Big malls in Saudi Arabia, such as Panda, Lulu and Othaim, accept international debit/credit card payments. In mini markets and grocery stalls, typically run by Pakistanis, Filipinos and East Asians, card payments are in most cases not accepted.
Contactless payments are available in Saudi Arabi for payments up to 100 SAR. After three consecutive contactless card payments, PIN is required.
Be aware of currency conversion fees: British banks may charge heavily for international card payments made in Saudi Arabia. In addition, your bank's SAR to GBP exchange rate may not be so good. This is how banks make money. Before using your bank card for payments in Saudi Arabia, it's certainly a good idea to contact your bank. This will avoid your card becoming blocked due to international transactions that your bank may find suspicious.
You should certainly take SAR cash with you on your trip to Saudi Arabia. Cash is an essential means of payment in Saudi Arabia.
A coffee in a cafe will cost around 4 to 6 SAR. A three-course meal in a mid-range restaurant costs 140 to 200 SAR, but it may be more expensive for restaurants inside hotels.
The overall cost of living in Saudi Arabi is around 25% lower than the cost of living in the UK.
Tipping a waiter is good practice. If you're happy about the service you should tip 10-15% of the bill. A service charge may already have been added to the bill, so check this first before tipping. Make sure to tip in cash.
Avoid tipping people who were the Saudi 'thobe' or 'thawb', the so-called Arabic dress that all Saudi men and boys are required to wear. Saudi men generally have good salaries and live well. They may consider a tip as offensive.
Banknotes in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Riyal banknotes in circulation are 5 SAR, 10 SAR, 50 SAR, 100 SAR and 500 SAR.
There are more than one series of banknotes in circulation. The new series has the image of the current ruler of Saudi Arabia, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The older series have the portrait of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who died in 2015.
Coins in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabian coins range from 1 halala (0.01 SAR) to 2 riyals.
Saudi Arabia's currency import and export regulations
There are no restrictions on the amount of currency you can import/export into or from Saudi Arabia, but you need to make a cash declaration if you are carrying over 60,000 SAR in local or foreign currency, both upon entering or exiting the country.
It is not allowed to import or export Israeli Shekels into or from Saudi Arabia.
Ordering Saudi Riyals online
Order Saudi Riyals online and have them delivered fast and securely to your home or office, with Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed®. Or pick them up from our travel money shop near Heathrow. Click here to
buy Saudi Riyals online.
Selling back Saudi Riyals
If you have Saudi Riyals to sell, follow this link to
exchange Saudi Riyals to Pounds, click on 'sell currency' and select 'SAR Saudi Riyal'. We'll pay good rates for your leftover Saudi Riyals.
