GBPCHF definition

GBP/CHF is the exchange rate between the British pound and the Swiss franc, showing how many francs one pound will buy. It is a cross rate, traded directly rather than through the US dollar, and it sets a higher-beta currency against a defensive one. Liquidity is moderate, with spreads wider than the dollar majors, and the pair has no widely used nickname.

The British pound is the base currency and the Swiss franc the quote currency, so a quote of 1.1200 means one pound is worth 1.1200 francs. A rising price means the pound is strengthening against the franc, a falling price the reverse. You trade GBP/CHF as a forex CFD, taking a view on the price rather than owning the currency itself: go long if you expect the pound to rise, short if you expect it to fall. Moves are counted in pips at the fourth decimal place, and your result is the pips gained or lost multiplied by your position size.

The pair contrasts a risk-sensitive pound with a safe-haven franc, so it often falls when markets get nervous and the franc draws defensive flows, and rises when confidence returns and the pound rallies. The policy gap between the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank sets the rate differential, and because the SNB has a record of acting to curb franc strength, its signals can move GBP/CHF sharply even when UK news is quiet.