Currency Converter

How currency conversion works

An exchange rate is just the price of one currency in terms of another. If 1 USD = 0.92 EUR, then $100 gets you €92. The rate moves constantly — forex is a $7 trillion/day market — so the rate you see online has often changed by the time you make the transfer.

Why banks give you worse rates

There are two layers of cost in any currency conversion:

• Foreign transaction fee — 0%–3% of the transaction, charged by your card network (Visa/MC/Amex)
• Exchange rate spread — banks add 1%–3% on top of the mid-market rate, even on "no fee" cards

A $1000 conversion with a 2.5% bank markup costs you ~$25 in hidden fees. A Wise or Revolut account gives you the true mid-market rate and is typically the cheapest way to convert.

Mid-market rate vs. what you get

The rate shown on Google and financial sites is the mid-market rate — the midpoint between what buyers pay and sellers accept in wholesale forex. It is essentially the "wholesale price" of currency. Retail customers never get this rate; banks and card networks always add a markup. Use this rate as a baseline to compare what your bank actually charges.