Most countries tell exchange offices what their rate board must show. Getting it wrong costs money: in 2018 a Polish exchange chain was fined PLN 1.24 million, partly because its boards put the buy and sell columns the wrong way round (UOKiK decisions, summarised by beinsured.pl). Checked October 2026; not legal advice, so confirm the rules for your licence with your regulator or a lawyer.
What your board must show
Buy and sell rates
Both, side by side and equally prominent, for every currency. In the UK a buy rate alone is not enough.
Buy first
“We buy” is what the customer gets for their foreign money, “We sell” what they pay for it, as the Czech National Bank describes it.
Your commission
And how it is worked out, shown with the rates. In Spain, France and the UK, as prominent as the rates.
Seen before they commit
At the entrance, in the window or as soon as the customer comes in, readable in daylight.
No “0% commission”
Not when your margin is in the rate. UK guidance and French consumer law both treat it as misleading.
Units and date
Good practice: 100 JPY rather than one yen with five zeros, and the date, so nobody argues about yesterday’s rate.
Country by country
| Country | What the rules ask | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | Minimum buy rates (and maximum sell rates, if you also sell) up to €3,000, commissions as prominent (Normas 4ª, 9ª). A tablón de anuncios (permanent notice board) in a prominent place: rates, commissions, customer service and complaints, an accredited dispute resolution body, a copy of the Banco de España authorisation. Spain in detail | Circular 6/2001 of the Banco de España |
| France | Buy and sell rates of the euro against the main currencies and how fees are calculated, in the same type size. Inside, and from outside too when exchange is over 5% of turnover. No sign suggesting no fees when they are in the rate. France in detail | Arrêté of 30 December 1998 |
| United Kingdom | Buy and sell as a pair, commission as prominent as the rates, visible as customers approach or enter, nothing saying rates are “not to be relied upon”, a receipt for every exchange. Whether these 1992 rules survived the 2024 consumer law is unclear; the 2024 Act asks much the same. UK in detail | Price Indications (Bureaux de Change) (No. 2) Regulations 1992, guidance on “0% commission” |
| Czechia | Since 2019: only the least favourable rate shown (no bigger “VIP” rates), no commission on top, and customers may cancel within three hours. | Czech National Bank |
| Germany | No rule for exchange offices. General price law asks for a price list in the premises and, if there is one, the shop window: our reading for a Wechselstube (exchange office). | PAngV § 12 (our reading) |
| Netherlands | A licence from De Nederlandsche Bank; no rule on the board found. | DNB |
| Belgium | Registration with the FSMA; the rules found are on money laundering, not the board. General price display law applies. | FSMA |
| Italy | Registration with the OAM; customers get a written confirmation of rate and fees. No rule on the board found. | Decree of 2 April 2015 |
United States: no federal or state rule on the board that we found. Stores register with FinCEN as money services businesses, some states (Florida, Texas) license currency exchange, and the FTC Act forbids misleading “no fee” claims. See boards for US stores.
Card and ATM rates: under Regulation (EU) 2019/518, conversion at card terminals and cash machines is shown as a percentage mark-up over the latest European Central Bank reference rate. Not counter cash, but it matters if your board shows card rates.
How an easyCMS board covers each point
Every design in the exchange-rate board templates does this already.
| The rule | On an easyCMS board |
|---|---|
| Buy and sell, buy first | Both side by side, buy column first |
| Commission as prominent as the rates | A commission line printed as large as the rates |
| No “0% commission” | Studio warns you if you type it in the footer |
| Units and date | 100 JPY next to the code; the date on the board |
| Your licence number | A footer line for it |
| Window and counter agree | Each board picks its currencies from the same rates table |
You keep your We buy and We sell rates and margins on Studio’s Exchange rates page; after Save, screens update within a few minutes. More on the currency board.