To remove currency symbols in Excel, first check whether the symbol is typed into the cell or only shown by a number format. A typed symbol makes the amount text, so strip it with Find and Replace or SUBSTITUTE. A format symbol needs no removal at all: switch the column to Number or General.
Is the currency symbol typed text or a number format?
A currency symbol is either part of the cell's contents or part of its display. Click one cell and read the formula bar. If the bar shows "$1,250.00", the symbol is typed text. If it shows "1250", the symbol comes from a Currency or Accounting format and the value is already a number.
The difference matters because the two need opposite fixes. A format symbol is harmless: the cell adds up, sorts and filters like any number. Removing it is a matter of taste, done with Home, Number Format, General. A typed symbol is a problem: Excel treats the whole cell as a string, so SUM skips it and a sort puts "$900.00" after "$1,200.00".
Converted files mostly produce typed symbols. The PDF printed "$1,250.00" as a run of characters, and the converter passed that run to Excel unchanged. A quick test settles it for a whole column: select the amounts and look at the status bar. A Sum there means numbers. A Count with no Sum means text, and the symbols have to go.
Once the symbols are gone, some cells may still refuse to become numbers because of hidden spaces or a trailing minus sign. Making converted PDF numbers editable covers those leftovers.
Find and Replace for dollar, pound and euro signs
Find and Replace removes one symbol from a whole column in a single step. Select the amount column, press Ctrl+H, type the symbol in Find what, leave Replace with empty, and choose Replace All. Excel strips the symbol and usually reads what is left as a number on the spot.
A few points make it go cleanly:
- Select the column first. With a single cell selected, Replace All works on the whole sheet, and a "$" inside a description changes too.
- One symbol per pass. Run it again for "£" or "€" if the column mixes them.
- Check alignment afterwards. Cells that jump to the right edge are now numbers. Cells that stay on the left still hold something else, often a space that sat between the symbol and the digits.
To type a symbol your keyboard lacks, copy it from a cell and paste it into the Find what box. That also catches look-alike characters, such as a full-width dollar sign, that a typed "$" would miss.
SUBSTITUTE formulas when a column mixes currency symbols
SUBSTITUTE removes symbols with a formula in a helper column, which leaves the original amounts in place until you have checked the result. Nest one SUBSTITUTE per symbol, wrap the lot in TRIM to drop stray spaces, and hand the clean string to VALUE.
The table below shows example cells from a converted file and the formula that cleans each. The amounts are made up.
| Cell | Example contents | Formula | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| A2 | $1,250.00 |
=VALUE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"$","")) |
1250 |
| A3 | £ 84.10 |
=VALUE(TRIM(SUBSTITUTE(A3,"£",""))) |
84.1 |
| A4 | -$45.99 |
=VALUE(SUBSTITUTE(A4,"$","")) |
-45.99 |
| A5 | €300.00 |
=VALUE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A5,"$",""),"£",""),"€","")) |
300 |
The last formula handles all three symbols, so you can fill it down a mixed column. Once every row returns a number, copy the helper column, paste it over the original as values, and delete the helper.
A cell such as "1.250,00 €" uses a comma as the decimal mark, and VALUE may misread it depending on your regional settings. Changing a decimal comma to a point in Excel deals with that case before you strip the symbol.
Currency codes like USD or EUR written beside the amount
Some statements print a three-letter code instead of a symbol, as in "1,250.00 USD". Treat the code the same way: SUBSTITUTE the code and its space, or run Find and Replace with " USD" in the Find box. Include the space, or a gap is left at the end of the cell.
When the codes vary from row to row, a formula that drops the last four characters is shorter than one SUBSTITUTE per code:
=VALUE(LEFT(TRIM(A2),LEN(TRIM(A2))-4))
It works only if every cell in the column ends with a space and a three-letter code. Test it with =RIGHT(TRIM(A2),4) in a spare column first. Any row that does not show a space and three capitals needs a different rule.
Does removing the currency symbol throw away information?
Stripping the symbol is a mistake when the column holds more than one currency. A travel card or a multi-currency account can list "$40.00" and "€40.00" on consecutive rows. Remove the symbols and both become 40, and any total adds dollars to euros.
Before you strip anything, copy the symbol or code into its own column:
=IF(LEFT(TRIM(A2),1)="€","EUR",IF(LEFT(TRIM(A2),1)="£","GBP","USD"))
Adjust the formula to the symbols your file uses. With a currency column beside each amount, you can total by currency with SUMIFS, or convert each row at the rate the statement printed.
Check one more thing while the symbols are visible. A converted statement sometimes repeats a page's last rows at the top of the next page, and the copies are easier to spot before cleanup changes how the cells look. Finding duplicate rows after a PDF to Excel conversion shows how to flag them.
FastBankConvert is getting ready to open and is built to put amounts in their own column, apart from dates and descriptions; you can join through Get started. If a file from any converter never reached your computer at all, what to try when a converted file is not downloading comes before any of this.