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The pound (symbol:£ banking code:GBP) is the official currency of the United Kingdom (UK). It is often simply called the pound, with "pound sterling" used mainly in formal contexts, or when it is necessary to distinguish the unit of currency from others that have the same name (the term British pound is also often used for this purpose). The slang term quid is very common in the UK. The currency in general is sometimes called just sterling (e.g. "payment must be in sterling").

The pound was originally the value of one pound (weight) of sterling silver (hence "pound sterling"). The sign for the pound is the pound sign, orignally ₤ with two cross-bars, then later more commonly £ with a single cross-bar. The pound sign is derived from the original black-letter "L", as the original duodecimal currency system (pounds, shillings and pence) used the abbreviation LSD (librae, solidi, denarii), libra being the Latin word for "pound". The ISO 4217 currency code is GBP (Great Britain Pound). Occasionally the abbreviation UKP is seen, but this is incorrect. It is also abbreviated ster. or stg.