If you want to use existing code to retrieve information about currency exchange rates and use that information in your own application, then using a Forex API is the way to go.
What is Forex?
The foreign exchange market, or “Forex,” is the largest financial market in the world. With an average daily trading volume of over $5 trillion, it’s 20 times larger than the New York Stock Exchange. Forex isn’t operated from a central location like other markets, such as the NYSE, and instead runs on a global network of banks and currency exchanges. This means that anyone can enter the Forex market from anywhere in the world.
It’s also open 24 hours a day, five days a week—great for traders who have day jobs. However, this also means that there’s no centralized closing time at which currencies are exchanged at fixed prices; instead, rates fluctuate all day long.
You always trade one currency for another (e.g. US Dollars to Euros). It’s a global, decentralized market where financial institutions, individuals, and businesses come together to trade currencies.
What is a Forex API?
A Forex API is an Application Programming Interface (API) that enables you to connect directly to data feeds from servers. The API allows developers full access to query price data, to build customized algorithmic trading strategies, or to integrate with other products or services.
A Forex API can help with the following:
- Automatically updating currency rates on your website or mobile app
- Enabling payments in foreign currencies for online stores
- Creating recommendations for traders based on historical data
- Create automated trading systems that trade forex pairs automatically based on certain conditions and algorithms.
That’s why we recommend you try out Exchangr, it provides a wide variety of info, for free, or if you’d like a premium plan, it is available at an affordable rate.
Exchangr
Exchangr is a REST API that leverages the JSON data format to provide consumers and companies with accurate currency exchange rates and conversions.
The API contains five customizable endpoints for diverse tasks. The live endpoint displays currency rates in real-time. The historical endpoint displays currency rates from the past. The convert endpoint translates various currencies, while the time-series endpoint displays exchange rates over a defined time period and the fluctuation endpoint displays currency change metrics.
Exchangr currently accepts 164 currencies and eight cryptocurrencies from consumers worldwide. It obtains and algorithmically combines data from a variety of commercial forex data sources and organizations before sending it to clients. It refreshes data every 60 minutes up to every 60 seconds.
So, to utilize the API, you must first:
Related posts:
Tips To Make Foreign Exchange APIs Less Overwhelming
Also published on Medium.