How to change default currency symbol in Excel for mac

In Excel for Mac, the default currency symbol comes from the macOS regional settings. To change it for all new workbooks, change the system currency, and to change it only within Excel, set the symbol in the Format Cells dialog.

1. To change the system/default currency symbol (affects Excel and other apps):
   • Open macOS System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS).
   • Go to the Language & Region (or International) settings.
   • Adjust the Region or the specific currency/number formats so the desired currency symbol is used.
   • Excel for Mac uses these regional settings for the currency symbol position, decimal symbol, and thousands separator.
2. To set a currency symbol for selected cells in Excel for Mac:
   • Select the cells.
   • On the Home tab, in the Number group, either:
     • Click Accounting Number Format to apply the default currency symbol, or
     • Press Ctrl+Shift+$ to apply the Currency format.
   • For more control, on the Home tab select the Number Format launcher (or press Ctrl+1) to open Format Cells.
   • In Category, choose Currency or Accounting.
   • In the Symbol box, choose the currency symbol to use, or choose None to show monetary values without a symbol.
   • Set Decimal places and Negative numbers options as needed, then select OK.

For custom display behavior (for example, different negative-number styles beyond the built-in options), a custom number format can be created as described in the referenced article.

References:

• Format numbers as currency in Excel
• Display dates, times, currency, fractions, or percentages
• Number format codes in Excel for Mac