Exchange Rate API uses the latest web server technology. All rates are served from nginx with a memcached backend for the fastest possible response times.
Some Frequently Asked Questions
How often do your rates update?
Short answer: Our rates are updated every 15 minutes.
Long answer: Every 15 minutes we go through all our currencies and check for updates from our various sources. If updated information exists, our rates will change accordingly. Some of our sources issue updates in real time (and these cover all the world's most popular currencies), while others issue updates every 6 hours, or once day. Lesser traded currencies (like the Panamanian Balboa for example) will therefore only actually change once per day. However, most currencies will be updated every 15 minutes.
Where do you get your rates from and how accurate are they?
Our rates are certainly accurate enough to display price estimations. However, they will differ slightly to the actual exchange a user may get when making payment, mostly due to the buy/sell profit spread applied by the relevant exchanging authority. Our sources are mainly central banks, such as European Central Bank and Canadian Central Bank. We have many sources and are always adding more so that our service is as reliable as possible.
How will I know if I am running out (or have run out) of API queries?
When you have reached 50% of your monthly queries you will receive an email so that you can monitor your usage. We send another email at when you have reached 90% of your monthly queries. Once you have reached your monthly queries, the API will return "-4" instead of a legitimate exchange rate, indicating you have exceeded your monthly quota.
Can I get historical rates from this API?
This exchange rate API does not currently offer any historical rates. We are always working hard at giving our clients the best possible service, and want to concentrate on optimizing live currency information. We feel that adding historical rates will only serve to bloat our servers and infrastructure to serve the needs of a very small minority of users, and we will only add this feature when we're confident that we can continue offering the best service possible.