But how? Currency is a fundamental element when it comes to finance and trade. Businesses working with international markets need to have correct information about currencies and their rapidly changing values. At present, there are avenues to enable trade with anyone from anywhere using certain technologies. So, if you are an individual or run an organization that deals with various financial markets across the globe daily, you need a tool that can convert currencies and exchange them easily and quickly. It will enable you to run your businesses with efficiency. And Currency exchange API can do that for you. These technologies make it easier for businesses to stay updated with current rates and convert or exchange currencies with accuracy and speed. This provides you with correct data to make better decisions and saves time and money on unnecessary efforts. Let’s understand what currency exchange APIs are and how they can help your business.
What is Currency Exchange APIs?
Currency exchange APIs or application interfaces are the tools or programs developers can integrate into an application or website to enable currency exchange. It may also provide other capabilities like currency conversion. This way, businesses, and individuals can easily stay updated with current market rates and convert different currencies like US Dollar (USD), the British Pound, the Euro, etc., into other currencies. Currency exchange APIs can support various currency types and data sources to fetch current and historical rates. They also include many features to make it easy to use the API, such as comprehensive documentation, an intuitive dashboard, and user interface and support for various file formats like XML, CSV, JSON, etc., to return data.
Why Do You Need Currency Exchange APIs?
The value of currencies changes. And if you are into international trade, you must know the values correctly to make sound business decisions and exchange currencies without any trouble. At this time, using a currency exchange API can help you. It also comes with a lot of benefits, including:
Accuracy
Currency values change all the time, no matter how stable a currency is. But if you are dealing with international markets, you need to know the current rates accurately. If you use a good currency exchange API, you will get accurate data updated periodically. There are many APIs available that update data every 60 seconds so that you have the latest rates available that you can put to use.
Supports multiple currencies
In general, currency exchange APIs support a large number of currencies. You can convert currencies and exchange them easily with a few clicks. It will enable you to work with various global markets and run your operations.
Comprehensive data sources
Currency exchange APIs gather currency updates from hundreds and thousands of data sources from various global banks, financial institutions, financial providers, and other commercial sources. It involves current, accurate data and historical data that may date back months or years. Hence, you can track the fluctuations in the values to make smart decisions. In addition, you can also analyze the data and make predictions.
Easy to use
Using exchange APIs is not challenging. Your developers can easily integrate the API’s code snippets on your website or applications. They can follow detailed API documentation, code examples, and simple API structure in case of doubts. You will also get plenty of features such as a dashboard to access the tool, an option to switch currencies, change parameters, notifications, and more.
Security and performance
API providers make sure the API you use is secure and works faster without giving you any troubles or security loopholes. Therefore, they offer robust security features such as industry-grade bank-level encryption, enabling HTTPS connections, etc. In addition, you will get faster performance and scalability so that you can request data and receive it within milliseconds. They can also handle thousands of API requests each second with their robust and scalable infrastructure. Some currency exchange APIs also provide 99.99% uptime so that your system is available all the time, and you can trade without skipping a beat. So, if you are looking for a reliable currency exchange API for your business, here are some of our recommendations.
Fixer
Fixer is a lightweight and simple API for historical and current foreign exchange rates. It is used by many SMBs, large corporations, and developers every day due to its reliable data sources for real-time exchange rates. The exchange rate data gets updated every 60 seconds for 170 world currencies. You can trust the sources because they are from banks, including European Central Bank and financial data providers. Your connection with the Fixer API is encrypted using bank-grade 256-bit SSL encryption. In addition, it’s also easy to implement the API within 10 minutes using the intuitive code examples, straightforward API structure, and detailed API documentation. Fixer comes with scalable volumes and guaranteed availability that responds within milliseconds. It also comes with time-series data and separate endpoints for the single currency conversion. You will get historical data up to 1st January 1999. Additionally, you can take help from the dashboard section of the control panel, where you can access the Quickstart tool to test API endpoints with a single click. Get an API key, 100 API calls/month, hourly updates, and historical data for free. If you want SSL encryption, more API calls, all base currencies, conversion endpoint, etc., you can go with the paid plan starting at $10/month or $8/month if billed annually.
currencylayer
Get currency conversion and reliable exchange rates for your business with currencylayer, a real-time JSON API for 168 world currencies. It collects data sources from banks and commercial sources and is compatible with any programming language and application. The data solution gets delivered in JSON format for easy integration, compatibility with multiple applications, and maximum usability. You will also get advanced features like switching source currency, currency change parameters, converting single amounts, historical data, and more. Get immediate access to historical data for the past 19 years, precious metals, and 168 world currencies. Ensure encrypted and secure datastreams by connecting to an API through industry-standard HTTPS. Once you subscribe, you will get access to API’s features via their documentation. You can track API usage monthly or daily and get automatic notifications while running low. currencylayer power up mobile apps, back-office systems, and currency converters worldwide. Choose your subscription according to the time you want, from 60 seconds to 60 minutes, to get exchange rates. currencylayer is free for 250 requests/month. If you want more, go with $9.99/month, including higher volume and core features.
Exchangerates
Exchangerates is an Intraday, Historical, and real-time market data API which gives an easy-to-use and free REST API interface that delivers stock market data across the world in JSON format. You will get reliable, accurate, and real-time currency exchange rate data for thousands of currencies updated every 60 seconds. Exchnagerates’s API integrates with valuable foreign exchange rate sources that offer accurate and recent rates for more than 200 pairs. Due to its scalable infrastructure, it can handle API requests from a few to thousands every second. You will also get instant access to the host of accurate currency pairs right from the beginning. It is free for up to 250 requests/month and costs you $9.99/month for 10,000 requests/month with HTTPS encryption, source currency switching, hourly updates, and other core features.
currencyapi
currencyapi.com is a reliable currency exchange API that helps you with current and historical foreign exchange conversions in over 170 currencies. With an update frequency of every 60 seconds, it offers real-time foreign exchange quotes and a stable design built to handle millions of requests per second. The developer experience focus makes the API easy to use and fully customizable. The functionality of currencyapi.com goes beyond that of many APIs. With features like team functionality, performance overview, custom features, and tailored support. The dashboard shows you not only your key performance indicators, like the number of API requests, success rate, and mean latency, but it also offers a graph to visualize essential metrics like successful requests, exceeded quota, server error, and more. On the dashboard, you can also find the “Request Playground” that shows your API keys and lets you define an endpoint and your base currency by simply clicking on a drop-down menu. Furthermore, you can always see your remaining and total monthly requests right on the dashboard. currencyapi.com allows you to upgrade and downgrade your plans with ease. It is also suitable for working with teams, as it enables you to invite team members and create new API keys. The most important links to documentation and support are easy to find within the app.
Abstract API
Abstract’s Currency Exchange and Forex API fetches you the latest rates for 150+ currencies and 10,000+ pairs. You can get the data updated every hour to a minute in addition to the decades-old records at your fingertips. And not just fiat, Abstract API works well with major cryptocurrencies to keep you abreast of any change in the volatile crypto world. However, the best thing you can rely on Abstract API is scalability. Their exceptional speeds and robust uptimes make them ideal for enterprise use. Additionally, the 256-bit SSL encryption ensures data safety. Finally, you can try them without paying a penny for 5000 API requests.
CURRENCY API
Currency conversion is now simple with CURRENCY API that offers the latest exchanges rates with one API call. Get the results in XML or JSON format with 256-bit encryption to secure your data. It’s rated 9.8 out of 10 on RapidAPI due to its fast response. CURRENCY API provides exchange rates for 170+ currencies updated every hour and historical rates from 2010 to the current. Just make a single request, and CURRENCY API quickly converts multiple currencies for you. It has a scalable infrastructure with 99.99% guaranteed uptime. The average response time as tested is 61 milliseconds. You can try code examples including JavaScript, Curl, PHP, and Python. Get 100 requests a day for free and subscribe to a paid plan if you want more, from 1000 requests a day to 100000 requests/day. You can ask for your unique requirements if you need unlimited access or a dedicated node.
Open Exchange Rates
Power your dynamic brands, organizations, and startups using Open Exchanges Rates’ currency data API. You will get reliable and consistent currency conversion and exchange rate data for your business. Open Exchange Rates’ community creates more than 200 open-source plugins and libraries for frameworks and languages. More than 1 lakh developers trust its API as this is fast, affordable, and flexible. It serves the data in JSON format with quick tech support and simple documentation. You will enjoy its scalability from a single request in a month to hundreds of requests in a second. Get historical and current exchange rates for more than 200 world currencies along with conversion APIs and time series. Use Open Exchange Rates’ free plan that gives 1000 requests/month and hourly updates. You can extend your requests per month according to your demand, starting at $12/month. Or, choose annual payment during checkout to avail yourself of two months free every year.
ExchangeRate-API
ExchangeRate-API is a reliable and accurate API that gives better support and exceptional uptime of 99.99% from the past 10 years. It is perfect for dashboards, E-Commerce, and SaaS. Thousands of developers trust ExchangeRate-API and relax while the API delivers day-in, day-out, and forex rates. Choose any programming language that supports HTTP requests to write two lines of code and implement it efficiently. It can convert and exchange 160 major currencies used in 200 countries. It gives the result in transparent JSON format that is easy to read and parse and responds to hassle-free integration. The currency API offers accurate conversions through reliable and stable FX data. You don’t need to wait for the next day for fresh data; you will get quick exchange rate updates with the pro plan. Signing up to the API is easy and quick to experience the benefits with the API key. After email confirmation, your API key will get active. Use HTTP or cURL library in its development environment and see the documentation for the API endpoints formats and URLs. Get 1500 API requests/month for free or pay $10/month to get 30000 API requests/month along with high availability infrastructure, LTS commitment, historical data, enriched data, and more. Take a free trial of the pro plan if you wish.
XE
Get globally trusted exchange rates for the business with XE Currency Data API. Choose from flexible packages that work for you and select the frequency you want along with the number of API requests every month. XE’s Rate Blender uses 100+ global sources to maintain accuracy and detects and dynamically filters out the errors. You can integrate XE Currency Data easily with your existing software. It supports SDKs for NodeJS, PHP, Python, and Java. You can also access the Swagger and Github page for SDKs, code generator, and integration support. It is compatible with XML, JSON, and CSV formats. You will get historical data back to 1998, more than 170 currencies, live rates, and more. There will be no restrictions on the base currency. Get advanced features like monthly averages, customizable margins, and currency volatility. It also lets you mitigate FX risks, develop strategies, and reduce costs to increase profits. Select the ideal package configuration for ERP, CRM, in-house applications, and accounting at $799/year to get an ample amount of rate requests for your common business applications.
Xignite
Xignite is the historical and real-time foreign currency exchange rates API supporting 170+ currencies and more than 29,000 currencies pairs. You will get the real-time spot and currency FX exchange rate quotes for trading currencies and cross rates by bridging currencies like USD/JPY, AUD/USD, USD/CAD, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/CHF. Get forward currency rates, currency converter utility, daily historical exchange rates, daily cross rates, the ability of intra-day, historical OHLC, end of day OHLC, minute level bars, and all rates timestamped in UTC. Access quality real-time forex rates via an easy-to-use API and receive daily rates for FX geo markets like Tokyo, London, Sydney, Singapore, New York, etc. You can effortlessly embed foreign exchange rates data in your current applications including, websites, spreadsheets, mobile apps, and corporate applications. Pay only for the financial data you want with Xignite; there will be no licensing agreements and complex packages. Just fill in the box and get a perfect quote.
IBAN
IBAN’s FOREX Reference Suite is a SaaS solution that provides a method of automated currency exchange rate data and currency conversion retrieval. It always gives accurate results as it updates the data every 10 minutes and collects data from trusted sources. Make a single API request and convert the amount you want from one currency to another based on the current exchange rate. IBAN stays updated with the daily fluctuations in FX markets and provides an easy to integrate and set up API that allows you to automate the conversion process. Get secure communication with the servers via HTTPS encrypted connection to carry all the requests successfully. It empowers your business with the stream of reference rates data by combining data from banks, stock exchanges, financial administrators, market analyzers, and central banks that give valuable insights into the currency market. Register yourself now and get a 30-day fully-featured trial account to explore services. You can also request a paid service to get more benefits.
Bonus: How to Choose the Best Currency Exchange API?
The above are undoubtedly some of the best currency exchange APIs out there. However, every business is different based on its size, budget, and needs. So, when you choose the API, make sure you do it according to your requirements. Here are some of the criteria to choose a suitable currency exchange API.
Supported currencies
Before finalizing the currency exchange API, find out how many currencies it supports; the more, the better. Look at the list and locate if it supports the currency you are dealing with, along with many others that you would deal with in the future. Many of the above-explained APIs support over a hundred currencies, so you can operate in various markets with ease. It would be best if they support 150+ currencies, including the most important ones like USD, Pound, and Euro. A smaller number of currencies will also do if it has the vital ones and a good set of features.
Data sources
Another critical aspect of choosing an exchange API is how many data sources it offers. The API works by gathering information from various sources. Hence, choosing an API that can provide humongous data and more data sources is essential. In addition, find if the data sources are genuine or not because you need accurate, trustworthy data for your business. The provider must offer enough reliable data sources so you can aggregate information and track and measure global trends for your business. You may look for large banks, financial institutions, and reliable websites as data sources. If you get 10+ data sources, it’s best.
Update frequency
How often the data updates in the API is crucial. The reason is financial markets and value may change at any time, and you need fresh data to run your operations. The best exchange APIs update data within 10-60 seconds, while others may take minutes and hours. If your operations run every day 24/7, you need to choose the one that can update data most frequently.
Conclusion 💱
A good exchange API can provide you with accurate currency information and convert or exchange currencies with speed and security. Thus, choose a reliable currency exchange API and run your business operations smoothly to make more profits. You may also be interested in the Best Stock Market APIs.
