You can use the Datafeed to better manage your business' multi-currency needs. For example, many successful corporations show prices in multiple currencies to sell more effectively to a global audience. They also integrate currency rates directly into their accounting systems to save time and manage their finances more accurately. These are just a few examples of the many ways our clients use the Datafeed.

The data file can be served in three formats:

1. Extensible Markup Language (XML) Format
   XML is well suited to data description and delivery. Our XML Datafeed includes an internal Document Type Definition (DTD) that defines its structure.
   
   View XML Sample by Base Currency: USD | GBP | EUR | Others
2. Comma-Separated Values (CSV) Format
   This format can be imported easily into almost any type of software. Most spreadsheets (including Excel) can open CSV files "as is". The format is simple: just text and numbers separated by commas.
   
   View CSV Sample by Base Currency: USD | GBP | EUR | Others
3. Standard HTML Table
   This format is not used often, but some software prefers to import from HTML formatted web pages.
   
   View HTML Sample by Base Currency: USD | GBP | EUR | Others

The samples above include all currencies available on that specified date. You're welcome to get it all, but few people actually need all currencies. You can always add or delete currencies whenever you want  free of charge. NOTE: The top 36 currencies meet 95% of currency needs. The top 80 currencies meet 99% of needs. More Info

Be advised that non-major "exotic" currencies are not traded as much. As such, data is harder to come by, less reliable, and consequently, updated less frequently. Most exotic currencies have a popularity rating of less than 0.2%.

The Datafeed is web-based and only you have access to your Datafeed. The Datafeed serves up a currency rate file in response to a standard HTTP GET request made by your server - a process many of our clients automate. When you register for the service, we assign you a unique URL where you can access the data, and you register the IP range from which you will make your request. If a request to that unique URL does not match the IP address you registered, the feed will block the access.

Note: We do not offer distribution of the rates via FTP.

Currencies are always quoted in pairs. The first currency is called the base currency, and the second currency is called the counter currency.

In general terms, the base currency you choose should be the currency in which you maintain your accounts. For example, if your business is in the United States and your systems are based in USD, then you would want to select USD as your "base currency". That means that all the currency rates in your feed (the counter currencies) will be in quoted in relation to your base currency.

Example:

Each license entitles you to receive the rates in one base currency only. If you need rates listed against multiple base currencies, you have two options:

1. FREE option: You can apply a formula to your original file to convert it into another base currency. We are happy to show you how to do this when you purchase your first license.
2. Pay option: You can pay for additional licenses. We are also happy to sell you more licenses.

The Datafeed includes rates for every current world currency as well as 4 metals: gold, silver, platinum and palladium. You're welcome to get every rate and its inverse, but few people actually need all of them.

You can select the "top 36" (meets 95% of currency needs) and "top 80" (meets 99% of needs). Keep in mind that you can always add or delete currencies whenever you want for FREE. Get info on popularity rankings.

Be advised that non-major "exotic" currencies are not traded as much. As such, data is harder to come by, less reliable, and consequently, updated less frequently. Most exotic currencies have a popularity rating of less than 0.2%.

Yes. You can change the preferences below as often as you like for FREE. To change your preferences, simply e-mail your request to dfs@xe.com and we will update your feed. Preferences you can change are:

Currency selection | Base currency | Lock in time | IP address | File format |
Inverse rate | Your Contact Info

Yes. A regular feed entitles you to rates from the date of your license forward. If you require historical rates, you have two options:

1. Last 90 days (within your licensing period):
   You can perform historical rate queries within the last 90 days (no earlier then the start date of your license), but they count against your access limit. To perform a historical rate query, you must pass a date argument. To find how to do this, please refer to the Datafeed Guide provided at registration.
2. Historical rates by year (outside of your licensing period):
   We license historical rates on a per year basis, each year requiring one license. To do this, you must already subscribe to the XE Datafeed. When you purchase historical data, we provide you with a data file in the format of your choice for the time period that you license.

The XE Datafeed lists each rate to 10 decimal places. The industry standard only quotes prices to 6 significant figures, so the rates we provide have a much higher degree of accuracy.

We obtain our rates from a wide variety of commercial and public sources. We use advanced proprietary systems to factor in available data from all sources and automatically detect errors. This allows us to generate a highly reliable composite Datafeed that is much more timely and accurate than any of our individual feeds.

We strive to always include the latest available market data from live, real-time rate feeds containing data from foreign exchange markets all around the world. Because it's always daytime somewhere in the world, there is a good chance that a currency market somewhere is currently trading. Our sources are global, which means that data for a specific currency can be updated even when the markets of its home country are closed. Where a specific currency is not regularly traded, we use the most recent data available.

We are proud to incorporate data from Tenfore Systems and Interactive Data as some of our preferred data sources. Read the Interactive Data press release

The rates provided in the Datafeed are neither "buy" rates nor "sell" rates (bid/ask); they are "mid-market" rates. Mid-market rates are derived from mid-point between the buy and sell rates of large-value transactions in the global currency markets.

Since "buy rates" and "sell rates" include overheads and profit margins that are set independently by each foreign exchange provider, they will vary depending on who you are talking to, and will always be different than the mid-market rate. We do not currently provide buy or sell rates.

The XE Datafeed is available in four frequencies: daily, hourly, every 15 Minutes, and every 60 Seconds. When rates are updated or 'locked-in', we take a 'snapshot' of every rate in your file.

For the Daily Datafeed, you can choose the time of day that your rates are updated. You can change the lock-in time of your feed at any time by sending an e-mail your request to dfs@xe.com. The other frequencies are updated starting on the hour mark.

Only you have access to your Datafeed. The Datafeed serves up a currency rate file in response to a standard HTTP GET request made by your server - a process many of our clients automate. When you register for the service, we assign you a unique URL where you can access the data, and you register the IP range from which you will make your request. If a request to that unique URL does not match the IP address you registered, the feed will block the access.

The XE Datafeed is available in four frequencies: daily, hourly, every 15 Minutes, and every 60 Seconds. The number of accesses you get is based on the frequency you selected.

* Each level of service includes additional "grace" accesses in case a data download
  gets lost or corrupted.

Every time you connect to our server, you use up one of your accesses. When you have used them all, your access will be blocked until your new access period begins. Each level of service includes enough accesses to collect the full data.

Each type of feed contains additional accesses which can be used in case a data download gets lost or corrupted. For example, if you download the data and your computer loses the file, your re-request will count as a grace access.

Yes. We are happy to provide you with a free one week live demo of the XE Datafeed.

Try a Free Personalized Demo

You can download the full XE Datafeed License Agreement. However, here is an overview of some of the key terms on the use of the XE Datafeed.

Licensed Use of Data

You can directly provide your end users with currency data for human reference, such as displaying a reference rate on a web page that people can look at or print.

You can also generate value-added functionality based on rate data, such as displaying the price of an item in several different currencies.

You can also import the data into an accounting system on a licensed computer and use it for invoicing, accounting, and reporting. You can use the currency data to convert prices in a printed annual shareholders' report.

These are just a few examples of what you can do with the XE Datafeed. But there are a number of things that the XE Datafeed license does not permit you to do.

You may not electronically redistribute raw currency data.

While you are free to display raw rates for human reference, you may not transfer or permit the transfer of any raw data to any type of computer, storage unit, or device.

So this means you cannot feed downstream computers or devices with currency data.

The data is licensed to you, not sold. So you do not become the owner of the data, and you cannot redistribute it or resell it.

Credit must be given to XE wherever the data is used.

Wherever the data is displayed or used as part of a calculation, you must credit us as the source with a short credit notice. Whenever possible, this notice must be a hyperlink to the XE site.

Where rates are used in multiple calculations in a single location, it is acceptable to display a single instance of the notice; however, the credit text must be accessible on the page where the use occurs.

Our collective legal bases must be covered.

You must ensure that use of our data, or using services employing our data, are governed our End User Terms of Use.

This is for our protection and for yours as well. Nobody wants to defend against a lawsuit because someone slipped a decimal point or misunderstood what an inverse is. People need to use the currency data and services at their own risk.

Covering our legal bases is not hard to do. You can place a hyperlink to our terms on your own legal page for the services in question. Or you can put a link to our terms art the bottom of the page that uses them. You can even include the text of the full terms as part of your own clickthrough agreement.

These are just a few of the key terms of the service. Please be sure to read the full XE Datafeed License Agreement before ordering.

You may not electronically redistribute raw currency data. While you are free to display raw rates for human reference, you may not transfer or permit the transfer of any raw data to any type of computer, storage unit, or device. So this means you cannot feed downstream computers or devices with currency data.

The data is licensed to you, not sold. So you do not become the owner of the data, and you cannot redistribute it or resell it.

No. The agreement cannot be changed. If, however, you have any questions about the agreement, we are happy to help. Please e-mail your queries to dfs@xe.com.

Ordering the Datafeed is easy. Just follow the steps below:

1. Download the Datafeed License Agreement.
2. Complete and send the Datafeed License Agreement with your payment
   The Agreement has detailed instructions on how to proceed.
3. We email you a link where you can customize your Datafeed
   When you complete this form, we can activate your feed and give you access to the User Guide within one business day.

Sign Up Now

Just like when you buy computer software, the Datafeed requires one license per computer. That means that any server (or computer) with access to the raw currency data must be licensed. The raw rate data cannot be distributed to unlicensed computers, so if your computer is in a cluster or server farm, each server needs to be licensed.

Calculations derived from the raw data (like prices in multiple currencies) can be distributed, but credit must be given to XE. There are no restrictions on the number of calculations made, or the number of end users that can see the results of calculations derived from the raw data.

Pricing for the Datafeed is based on the frequency of update, and the number of licenses needed. The prices are as follows:

 

Daily

Hourly

1 Computer (+1 back-up)

US $ 540 / yr

US $2160 / yr

2 Computers (+1 back-up)

US $ 810 / yr

US $3240 / yr

More frequent updates and volume licenses are also available.
E-mail dfs@xe.com for more info.

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader for free at the Adobe Site.

Sign Up Now

Any browser can access the Datafeed, so accessing the data manually is straightforward - you don't need to install any software or hardware to do this. If, however, you want to automate a way to get the data into your application, you'll need some basic programming skills.

Below is some basic info on how to get started, but please be aware that, because there are a gazillion types of applications out there, we cannot provide technical assistance to import data into your application.

To automate your Datafeed, you'll need to:

1. Import the data into your server or computer.

   To get the data from our servers, you'll need a program that can grab a URL and save the results. Unless you have multiple licenses, the data should go directly into the same machine as your application. The kind of programme you use depends on your Operating System. UNIX, for example, usually has such programs built-in.

   Don't have a programme that can do this? Try cURL - it's good, open source, and completely FREE.

   Note: cURL is third-party software; we cannot provide support for this product.

2. Parse the data file into variables in your program.

   Once the data file is on your local machine, modify your application to read in the data file, parse out the rates, load them into variables, and use them in your program. This is a basic programming task.

   You may find parsing tools that access the rates without saving the file. We strongly recommend that you save the file in case you need it again, so you don't waste your grace accesses to get the same data

Because there are a many different types of applications out there, we cannot provide technical assistance to import data into your application. We purposely designed the XE Datafeed to be easily accessible with any browser so that pretty much anyone can access the service. We operate at well over 99.99% uptime which means you can connect to our servers consistently and effectively.

If your access is blocked, an error message will explain why. You may have run out of accesses or accessed the data from an unregistered IP address. For a full list of error messages and how to resolve them, please refer to the Datafeed Guide provided at registration. For further questions, please contact us.

The daily Datafeed allows for 9 accesses every 7 days; a 7 day period begins when you first access the feed. After the period expires, a new period will begin the next time you access the feed.

Accesses for hourly, 15 minute and live feeds reset each day.

Our servers are hosted in a state-of-the-art facility. We operate at well over 99.99% uptime for our site which means you can connect to our servers consistently and effectively. We will always notify you well in advance of any planned system downtime, but we keep planned service interruptions to an absolute minimum.

No. The number of times you can access the Datafeed depends on your chosen frequency of update. The XE Datafeed is designed so that you import the data into your applications and then perform each calculation locally.

Please contact us for assistance and we will be happy to help you.

All service related to the XE Datafeed are handled during the following business hours:
Monday to Friday 7:30 am to 5:00 pm Eastern time.

Have any questions? We're always happy to help. Contact us!