Exchange rate loss calculator
Every conversion has two prices: the fee you see and the markup hidden in the rate. Enter what you sent or paid and the rates, and see what the conversion cost against the mid-market rate, in both currencies and as a percentage, and what it adds up to in a year.
What arrived
At the mid-market rate
The conversion cost €13.59 ($14.73), 0.74% of the amount.
Runs entirely in your browser at the rates you type; the site fetches none. Nothing you type is sent or kept.
The two costs in every conversion
A conversion costs you a fee you can see and a markup you usually cannot: the gap between the rate you were given and the mid-market rate. The calculator puts both into one figure by asking what the same amount would have been worth at the mid-market rate, and subtracting what you actually got. The reference rate to compare with is easy to find: the European Central Bank's reference rates for the euro, or a live mid-market rate for any pair.
Sending $2,000 to a euro account
At an example mid-market rate of 1 USD = 0.9225 EUR, two ways to send the same $2,000:
| What | Transfer service | Bank wire |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | $5.00 | $25.00 |
| Rate given | 0.9180 | 0.8950 |
| Arrives | €1,831.41 | €1,767.63 |
| At mid-market | €1,845.00 | €1,845.00 |
| Cost | €13.590.74%, or $14.73 | €77.374.19%, or $83.87 |
The bank's $25 fee is the smaller part of its cost: most of the €77.37 is in the rate. Sent every month, the difference between the two is €765.36 a year.
Paying ¥12,000 by card in Japan
At an example mid-market rate of 1 USD = 149.50 JPY, a card network converting at 149.03 and a 3% foreign transaction fee charge $82.94 against $80.27 at mid-market: $2.67, or 3.33%. The same payment on a card with no foreign transaction fee costs $0.25. A 3% fee is common in the United States; the CFPB's own example is a 1% network charge plus a 2% issuer charge.
If the terminal offers to charge you in dollars, that is dynamic currency conversion, and the shop's rate replaces the network's. In the EU, the seller must show the markup over the ECB's rate first, and you can always pay in the local currency. To record such a payment at the rate on your statement, type it on the entry; see multi-currency.
What it assumes
The rates you type, for the same moment. Rates move by the minute, so a cost under a few tenths of a percent may be timing rather than markup.
Words this page uses
- Mid-market rate
- The midpoint between the buying and selling rates on the currency markets: the rate before anyone's markup. Central bank reference rates, such as the ECB's, are close to it.
- Markup
- The difference between the rate you were given and the mid-market rate. It is a fee even when nothing is called a fee.
- Foreign transaction fee
- A card's charge on a payment in another currency, usually a percentage of the amount.
- Dynamic currency conversion
- When a shop or ATM abroad offers to charge you in your own currency. It sets its own rate, which includes its markup.
- Effective rate
- What you actually received for each unit you sent, after the fee and the markup together.
Questions
- Where do I find the mid-market rate?
- The European Central Bank publishes euro reference rates each working day at around 4 pm Central European Time; Google and most currency sites show a live mid-market rate. Use the rate for the day and time of your conversion.
- Should I pay in the local currency or my own when a card terminal asks?
- Usually the local currency. Choosing your own lets the shop or ATM convert at its own rate; EU rules require it to show the markup over the ECB rate first, and Visa and Mastercard both say their rates do not apply when the merchant converts.
- What is a normal foreign transaction fee?
- In the United States, often 3% of the amount: the CFPB's own example is a 1% network charge plus a 2% issuer charge. Some cards charge none. Check your card's pricing terms.
- Is this the same as a gain or loss on a foreign balance?
- No. This is the cost of one conversion. Money you hold in another currency also gains or loses value as the rate moves, without any conversion; the Tavala app shows that on the Money tab, at today's rate.
Keep the rate you actually got
In Tavala every entry keeps the rate of its day, and you can type the rate your bank or transfer service gave you on any entry or transfer, so the fee and the markup stay visible in your budget.
Go further
- Which exchange rate belongs in your budgetCard, Wise, ECB or mid-market.
- Budgeting for expatsSalary in one currency, rent in another.
- Trip budget calculatorA day's budget in the local currency.
- Use your own exchange rate for one entryIn the full form, tap the pencil on the conversion card and type the rate you actually got. It applies to that one entry and changes nothing else.
- Move money between your walletsRecord a transfer in the full form by picking a From wallet, a To wallet and an amount. A transfer is not spending or income and shows as one row.
- How Tavala converts currencies and which rate it keepsEntries keep the rate of the day you saved them. Balances and net worth use today's rate. See where rates come from and what Estimated means.
Start with what you spent today.
There is no account to create and no card to enter. Pick your currency, add what you paid, and Home shows what is left.