Last updated: May 2026
Convert between 30+ major currencies. Rates are indicative — updated May 2026.
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Major Currency Rates vs USD (May 2026)
| Currency | Code | 1 USD = | 1 unit = USD |
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Every day, over $7.5 trillion changes hands on the global foreign exchange market — making forex the largest and most liquid financial market on the planet. Exchange rates are simply the price of one currency expressed in another. Like any price, they're determined by supply and demand: if demand for euros rises, the euro strengthens against other currencies.
The rate you see quoted publicly is the mid-market rate (also called the spot rate or interbank rate). It's the exact midpoint between what buyers are willing to pay (the bid) and what sellers are asking (the ask). Banks and currency brokers earn their margin from the bid-ask spread — they buy from you at the bid price (lower) and sell to you at the ask price (higher), pocketing the difference.
For a liquid pair like USD/EUR, the spread might be just 0.01–0.05%. For exotic currencies like USD/IDR, spreads can be 0.5–2% or more. Add in fixed transaction fees, and your actual exchange rate can easily be 2–5% worse than the mid-market rate you see on Google or this calculator.
Exchange rates are constantly moving. They react to central bank decisions (interest rate hikes or cuts), economic data releases (inflation, GDP, employment figures), geopolitical events, commodity price swings, and broader market sentiment. The USD, for example, typically strengthens during global risk-off episodes — investors flee to it as a safe haven.
The table above shows approximate mid-market rates as of May 2026. These are for reference only. The most actively traded pairs are EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, and AUD/USD — together they account for the vast majority of global forex volume.
When you walk up to a currency exchange kiosk, you'll see two rates: the buy rate (what they'll pay you for your foreign currency) and the sell rate (what they charge you to buy foreign currency). The buy rate is always lower, and the sell rate is always higher, than the mid-market rate. That gap — the spread — is the exchange service's profit.
Example: If mid-market USD/EUR is 0.9200, an airport kiosk might buy EUR from you at 0.8800 and sell EUR to you at 0.9600. That's a spread of roughly 4.3% each way. On a $1,000 conversion, you lose about $43 before any additional flat fees.
Online services like Wise (formerly TransferWise), Revolut, and certain online banks operate on much thinner spreads — often 0.3–0.5% — because they batch transactions and access better interbank rates. For regular international transfers, they're almost always the better choice over a traditional bank wire.
A few practical rules that save real money:
Exchange rates are determined by supply and demand in the global foreign exchange (forex) market, which processes over $7 trillion in daily volume. Central bank policy is the biggest driver — when the US Federal Reserve raises interest rates, the USD tends to strengthen because higher yields attract capital from abroad. Inflation differentials, trade balances, GDP growth, and geopolitical risk all play significant roles as well. The "mid-market rate" is simply the midpoint between current buy and sell orders on the interbank market at any given moment.
The best option for most travelers is a no-foreign-transaction-fee credit card (Visa or Mastercard) that settles at the network mid-market rate. For cash, use ATMs from your bank's international network rather than currency kiosks. Multi-currency accounts like Wise or Revolut are also excellent — they let you hold and convert dozens of currencies at near-interbank rates. The worst options are airport exchange bureaus, hotel desks, and any service advertising "0% commission" (they make it back on the spread instead).
Each bank or exchange service applies its own markup on top of the wholesale interbank rate. This markup is their margin — it varies by institution, transaction size, and currency pair. Large multinational banks with high retail volume may offer tighter spreads for premium customers. Specialist transfer services like Wise operate on thinner margins because they offset positions between customers going in opposite directions. Always compare the total cost (rate × amount + fees) rather than just looking at the headline rate or the advertised commission.
The mid-market rate (also called the interbank rate, spot rate, or real exchange rate) is the exact midpoint between the current buy and sell price of two currencies on the global forex market. It's the rate you see on Google, Reuters, or this calculator. In practice, you'll never receive this exact rate as a consumer — banks and exchange services add a spread on each side. Think of it as the "true" price of a currency before any profit margin is added. Services like Wise are transparent about the gap between their rate and the mid-market rate.
The sneakiest cost is the exchange rate markup itself — a bank or kiosk can advertise "no fees" while quietly offering a rate 3–5% worse than mid-market. Other hidden costs include: flat transaction fees (often $10–$40 for bank wires), ATM withdrawal fees (charged by both your bank and the foreign ATM operator), Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) surcharges at checkout terminals, minimum transfer fees that hurt small transactions disproportionately, and weekend or after-hours surcharges. Always ask: "What's the total amount I will receive in the destination currency?" — that's the only number that matters.