How much did that payment lose to the exchange rate?
Free. Reference rates of 30 October 2026.
FX cost calculator
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Transfer and wire fees charged separately. Leave 0 if none.
This payment cost $214.81, or 2.15% of what you sent
At 4 payments like it a month, that's $10,311 a year.
- Your rate
- 1 USD = 0.879 EUR
- Reference rate
- 1 USD = 0.89509 EUR (30 October 2026)
- Lost to the rate
- $179.81
- Fees on top
- $35.00
- At the reference rate, the payee would have received
- €8,951
- They received
- €8,790
At a glance
- US dollars per euro, ECB reference rate of 30 October 2026
- 1.1172
- US dollars per pound, from the same ECB rates
- 1.3399
- dirhams per US dollar, the UAE central bank's peg
- 3.6725
How the cost is worked out
At the reference rate, what you sent would have bought a certain amount of the payee's currency. The difference between that and what they actually received is the margin in your rate. The calculator turns it back into your currency, adds any fees you paid on top, and multiplies by the payments you make in a year.
Use the amounts from your statement and the payee's remittance advice. If the payee's bank also deducted a fee, or an intermediary did on a SWIFT payment, that's in the result too, because the payee received less.
Where the cost hides
- The rate. A provider quotes its own rate, with its margin built in, rather than charging it as a fee.
- Deductions on the way. Under SHA and BEN, intermediary banks take their fees from the payment. See wire fees explained: OUR, SHA and BEN.
- Conversion at the other end. If the payee's account doesn't hold the currency you send, their bank converts it at its own rate.
- Converting twice. Paying a euro invoice from dollars you received, after converting them to your home currency first, pays the margin twice.
How to lose less
Compare a provider's rate with the mid-market rate before you pay, not after. Pay suppliers in the currency their account holds. And receive the currencies you're paid in, rather than converting each receipt: Align gives companies named USD, EUR, GBP and AED account details, and shows the rate and fee on every conversion before you confirm. For what a stablecoin route costs end to end, see stablecoin vs SWIFT: what a payment actually costs.
Common questions
- What is the mid-market rate?
- The midpoint between the rates at which banks buy and sell a currency at a given moment. It's the fairest benchmark for what a conversion should cost. The ECB publishes a daily reference rate close to it, used here, and providers add a margin on top.
- How much do banks charge on exchange rates?
- It varies by bank, amount and currency, and it's rarely shown as a fee. The only way to know is to compare the rate you got with a reference rate for the same day, which is what this calculator does. A margin of a percent or two on a large payment usually costs more than the transfer fee.
- Why use the ECB rate rather than a live rate?
- It's free, published and the same for everyone, so a result can be checked and shared. It's set around 16:00 CET on TARGET business days, so for a payment made at another time, rates may have moved a little either way.
- Where does the dirham rate come from?
- The dirham is pegged to the dollar at 3.6725 per dollar by the Central Bank of the UAE, so AED rates are worked out from the ECB's dollar rate.
- How do I lose less to exchange rates?
- Ask for the rate before you pay and compare it with the mid-market rate, pay suppliers in the currency their account holds, and hold the currencies you're paid in rather than converting every receipt. Named USD, EUR, GBP and AED account details let you receive each currency without a conversion.
Sources
- European Central Bank, Euro foreign exchange reference rates (30 October 2026)
- Central Bank of the UAE, Exchange rates, February 2023 (the dirham's dollar peg)
An estimate against a daily reference rate, not a quote. Rates move during the day, so a small difference either way can be timing rather than margin.
Get started
Open a business account built on stablecoins.
Named USD, EUR, GBP and AED accounts in your company's name, with USDC and USDT in and out. Apply online; our compliance team reviews applications in 1 to 5 business days.