Ad Account Currency and Time Zone on Meta Explained

Currency and time zone are set when an ad account is created, and Meta treats them almost as permanent. You can switch either one, but the switch doesn’t edit your account: it closes it and opens a replacement. Getting both right before your first campaign saves you rebuilding everything later.

When do you choose them?

At the start. Meta’s example of a first ad bought from a Page has you enter your account information and set your account country and currency before you confirm the purchase. The time zone defaults to Pacific Standard Time (PST) for new ad accounts, so Meta advises checking it before you create campaigns.

What does the currency affect?

It’s the currency your ads are billed in. It also shapes how you can pay: Meta says the payment methods available to you depend on the currency you choose, and that an ad account’s country and currency together determine the accepted payment methods.

What happens when you change them?

You change	What happens
Time zone	The existing ad account closes, its ads stop running and it can’t be reactivated; a new account is created with the new time zone
Currency	A new ad account is created; the old one stays visible in the account dropdown but is closed, its ads stop, and ads that ran on it are billed in the old currency

What limits apply to changing currency?

Meta lists several:

• You can change currency once every 60 days, and only if you don’t have a current balance.
• You have to be an admin of the ad account to manage its payment settings.
• For some countries, such as Brazil, the ad account’s business country and currency must match.
• If you didn’t choose Brazil as the country, or BRL as the currency, when creating the account, you can’t change to them later.
• If you pay through monthly invoicing, you can’t change currency once the account exists.

How do you change the time zone?

Meta’s steps, on a computer only:

1. Go to payment settings in Meta Ads Manager; you may need to re-enter your password.
2. Find the Business info section and select Edit.
3. In Currency and time zone, choose the new time zone from the dropdown and select Save.
4. Select Continue.

Changing currency follows the same path: under Business info, click Edit, select the new currency and time zone, then save. Afterwards, run your ads from the new ad account.

FAQ

Why did my ads stop after I changed the time zone?

Because the change closed the account they belonged to. Meta says changing the time zone closes the existing ad account, ads created with it stop running and the closed account can’t be reactivated. Recreate the campaigns in the new ad account that Meta set up with your new time zone.

Can I go back to my old currency?

Not by reopening the old account. Meta says the old account stays visible in the dropdown but is closed. Any further change creates another new account, is limited to once every 60 days, and requires no current balance. Anything that ran on the old account is billed in the old currency.

Who can change an ad account’s currency?

Only an admin of the ad account. Meta says that to manage an ad account’s payment settings, you have to be an admin. If you aren’t one, ask an admin of the account to make the switch for you.