What Solomon Islands dollar actually arrives in Solomon Islands when someone sends Australian dollars, at the live mid-market rate. We explain the process; we never recommend a provider.
| They send (AUD) | You receive at mid-market (SBD) |
|---|---|
| 500 AUD | 2,808 SBD |
| 1,000 AUD | 5,616 SBD |
| 2,000 AUD | 11,232 SBD |
| 5,000 AUD | 28,080 SBD |
Mid-market equivalents, not transfer quotes - the sender’s provider deducts its margin and any fees before the money reaches you. STRUCK 11:00 AEST · TUE 13 OCT.
A scatter of nearly a thousand islands in the South Pacific, the Solomon Islands trade in rainforest, reefs and some of the most consequential naval history of World War II.
A thin yellow diagonal stripe divides the flag into an upper blue triangle bearing five white stars and a lower green triangle. The constitution has no flag provision. The blue is conventionally read for the water, the green for the land and the yellow for the sun; the five stars originally stood for the five administrative districts of 1977, and the country now has nine provinces, so the count no longer tracks them.
A continent pretending to be a country - Australia is the only nation that fills an entire continent, with most of its 27 million people clinging to the coast while the red-dirt interior does its own thing.
A blue field with the Union Jack in the canton, a large white seven-pointed Commonwealth Star below it, and the five white stars of the Southern Cross at the fly. Six of the big star's points stand for the states and the seventh for the territories; the Southern Cross marks Australia's place in the southern sky.
Work in Australia under the Pacific labour mobility schemes is what makes this a live corridor, with earnings going home in regular modest amounts rather than occasional large ones. The Solomon Islands dollar is managed against a basket of trading-partner currencies instead of floating freely.
The exchange rate is set on the sending side - by the service the sender chooses in Australia - so the most useful thing a receiver can do happens before the transfer: share the live mid-market rate on this page so the sender can judge the margin in their quote. How the money arrives in Solomon Islands determines any local receiving charges - bank-to-bank transfers can pass through intermediary banks that deduct handling fees.
Sending rather than receiving? The sender’s view of this corridor covers the same rate from the other side. The AUD/SBD converter page handles any amount. Receiving money from overseas explains the process end to end.
Until recently the Solomon Islands had no statute covering electronic payments at all. The gap closed in 2022, which is recent enough to still shape how a payment is handled. The Minister of Finance presented the payments system bill to Parliament in July 2022. It would let the central bank establish, own and operate payment systems, and take part in owning or operating them. It would also let the Bank hold cash accounts for operators and participants, usable to settle within those systems, and hold securities on account for the same purpose.
A second group of powers is about the settlement itself. It lets the bank extend intraday credit, in cash or in securities, against adequate collateral, to banks and other institutions participating in a system, and lets it act as a central counterparty and as a central securities depository.
The same bill deals with everyone else in the chain. The Minister described it as providing a basis in law for licensing, monitoring and approving payment service providers, checking regularly that their conduct is within the law, requiring them to meet reporting and audit obligations, and setting specific penalties for misconduct in office.
The system that law made possible went live afterwards. The Governor of the central bank launched the country's automated transfer system in Honiara on 8 April 2024. He said the project had begun in July 2019, that the statute gave the Bank its operational and oversight roles, and that it repealed the payments part of the Bank's own founding act. So the institution that runs the rails a payment lands on is also the one supervising whoever hands the money over, and both roles are younger than most of the accounts involved.
Sources: Solomon Islands Government, on the payments system bill and the central bank's oversight and operational role, 26 July 2022 · Luke Forau, Governor of the Central Bank of Solomon Islands, remarks at the launch of the national payments system, 8 April 2024
How much Solomon Islands dollar will I receive in Solomon Islands?
A little less than the mid-market figures above. The service the sender uses in Australia sets the rate and fees; local receiving banks in Solomon Islands can also apply their own charges depending on how the transfer arrives.
The sender asked for my details - what will they need?
Whatever their transfer service asks for on the receiving side - typically your full legal name and local bank account details in Solomon Islands. Give the name exactly as your bank records it; mismatches are the most common reason a transfer is delayed.
Why did I receive less than the rate on this page suggests?
The mid-market rate is the midpoint between global buy and sell prices, and no retail provider deals at it. The gap between it and a quote is the provider’s margin, which is usually where most of the cost of a transfer sits. On a bank-to-bank transfer an intermediary bank can also deduct a handling charge in transit.