How do I get currency exchange rates via an API such as Google Finance?

Question

Now, I did find the Google Finance API and started looking through that but I found a lot of info about portfolios, transactions, positions & other stuff I know nothing about.

Am I looking at the wrong docs? What do I need to do to get a feed of exchange rates from GF? Is this even possible?

EDIT

To make things a little clearer. I'm not interested in technical stuff nor do I want any code.

Answer 1

Thanks for all your answers.

Free currencyconverterapi:

• Rates updated every 30 min
• API key is now required for the free server.

A sample conversion URL is: http://free.currencyconverterapi.com/api/v5/convert?q=EUR_USD&compact=y

---

For posterity here they are along with other possible answers:

1. Yahoo finance API Discontinued 2017-11-06###

Discontinued as of 2017-11-06 with message

It has come to our attention that this service is being used in violation of the Yahoo Terms of Service. As such, the service is being discontinued. For all future markets and equities data research, please refer to finance.yahoo.com.

Request: http://finance.yahoo.com/d/quotes.csv?e=.csv&f=sl1d1t1&s=USDINR=X
This CSV was being used by a jQuery plugin called Curry. Curry has since (2017-08-29) moved to use fixer.io instead due to stability issues. Might be useful if you need more than just a CSV.

2. (thanks to Keyo) Yahoo Query Language lets you get a whole bunch of currencies at once in XML or JSON. The data updates by the second (whereas the European Central Bank has day old data), and stops in the weekend. Doesn't require any kind of sign up.

http://query.yahooapis.com/v1/public/yql?q=select * from yahoo.finance.xchange where pair in ("USDEUR", "USDJPY", "USDBGN", "USDCZK", "USDDKK", "USDGBP", "USDHUF", "USDLTL", "USDLVL", "USDPLN", "USDRON", "USDSEK", "USDCHF", "USDNOK", "USDHRK", "USDRUB", "USDTRY", "USDAUD", "USDBRL", "USDCAD", "USDCNY", "USDHKD", "USDIDR", "USDILS", "USDINR", "USDKRW", "USDMXN", "USDMYR", "USDNZD", "USDPHP", "USDSGD", "USDTHB", "USDZAR", "USDISK")&env=store://datatables.org/alltableswithkeys

Here is the YQL query builder, where you can test a query and copy the url: (NO LONGER AVAILABLE)

http://developer.yahoo.com/yql/console/?q=show%20tables&env=store://datatables.org/alltableswithkeys#h=select%20*%20from%20yahoo.finance.xchange%20where%20pair%20in%20%28%22USDMXN%22%2C%20%22USDCHF%22%29

3. Open Source Exchange Rates API

Free for personal use (1000 hits per month)
Changing "base" (from "USD") is not allowed in Free account
Requires registration.
Request: http://openexchangerates.org/latest.json
Response:

   <!-- language: lang-js -->

    {
      "disclaimer": "This data is collected from various providers ...",
      "license": "all code open-source under GPL v3 ...",
      "timestamp": 1323115901,
      "base": "USD",
      "rates": {
          "AED": 3.66999725,
          "ALL": 102.09382091,
          "ANG": 1.78992886,
          // 115 more currency rates here ...
      }
    }

4. currencylayer API

Free Plan for 250 monthly hits
Changing "source" (from "USD") is not allowed in Free account
Requires registration.
Documentation: currencylayer.com/documentation

JSON Response:

   <!-- language: lang-js -->

    {
      [...]
      "timestamp": 1436284516,
      "source": "USD",
      "quotes": {
          "USDAUD": 1.345352401,
          "USDCAD": 1.27373397,
          "USDCHF": 0.947845302,
          "USDEUR": 0.91313905,
          "USDGBP": 0.647603397,
          // 168 world currencies
          }
      }

5. CurrencyFreaks API

Free Plan (1000 hits per month)
Changing 'Base' (From 'USD') is not allowed in free account
Requires registration
Data updated every 60 sec.
179 currencies worldwide including currencies, metals, and cryptocurrencies
Support (Even on the free plan) Shell,Node.js, Java, Python, PHP, Ruby, JS, C#, C, Go, Swift.
Documentation: https://currencyfreaks.com/documentation.html

Endpoint:

$ curl 'https://api.currencyfreaks.com/latest?apikey=YOUR_APIKEY'

JSON Response:

{
    "date": "2020-10-08 12:29:00+00",
    "base": "USD",
    "rates": {
        "FJD": "2.139",
        "MXN": "21.36942",
        "STD": "21031.906016",
        "LVL": "0.656261",
        "SCR": "18.106031",
        "CDF": "1962.53482",
        "BBD": "2.0",
        "GTQ": "7.783265",
        "CLP": "793.0",
        "HNL": "24.625383",
        "UGX": "3704.50271",
        "ZAR": "16.577611",
        "TND": "2.762",
        "CUC": "1.000396",
        "BSD": "1.0",
        "SLL": "9809.999914",
        "SDG": 55.325,
        "IQD": "1194.293591",
          .
          .
          .
    [179 currencies]
    }
}

6. Fixer.io API (European Central Bank data)

Free Plan for 1,000 monthly hits
Changing "source" (from "USD") is not allowed in Free account Requires registration.

This API endpoint is deprecated and will stop working on June 1st, 2018. For more information please visit: https://github.com/fixerAPI/fixer#readme)

Website : http://fixer.io/
Example request : [http://api.fixer.io/latest?base=USD][7]
Only collects one value per each day

7. European Central Bank Feed

Docs: http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/index.en.html#dev
Request: http://www.ecb.int/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml

XML Response:

   <!-- language: lang-xml -->

    <Cube>
      <Cube time="2015-07-07">
      <Cube currency="USD" rate="1.0931"/>
      <Cube currency="JPY" rate="133.88"/>
      <Cube currency="BGN" rate="1.9558"/>
      <Cube currency="CZK" rate="27.100"/>
    </Cube>

8. exchangeratesapi.io

According to the website:

Exchange rates API is a free service for current and historical foreign exchange rates published by the European Central Bank

This service is compatible with fixer.io and is really easy to use: no API key needed - UPDATE: API key is now needed, free tier is 250 requests/mo.
For example (this uses CURL, but you can use your favorite requesting tool):

    > curl https://api.exchangeratesapi.io/latest?base=GBP&symbols=USD&apikey=YOUR_KEY
    {"base":"GBP","rates":{"USD":1.264494191},"date":"2019-05-29"}

9. CurrencyApi.net

Free Plan for 1250 monthly hits
150 Crypto and physical currencies - live updates
Base currency is set as USD on free account
Requires registration.
Documentation: currencyapi.net/documentation

JSON Response:

    {
      "valid": true,
      "updated": 1567957373,
      "base": "USD",
      "rates": {
              "AED": 3.673042,
              "AFN": 77.529504,
              "ALL": 109.410403,
              // 165 currencies + some cryptos
          }
      }

10. Currency from LabStack

Website: https://labstack.com/currency
Documentation: https://labstack.com/docs/api/currency/convert
Pricing: https://labstack.com/pricing
Request: https://currency.labstack.com/api/v1/convert/1/USD/INR
Response:

```js
 {
   "time": "2019-10-09T21:15:00Z",
   "amount": 71.1488
 }
 ```

1: http://query.yahooapis.com/v1/public/yql?q=select * from yahoo.finance.xchange where pair in ("USDEUR", "USDJPY", "USDBGN", "USDCZK", "USDDKK", "USDGBP", "USDHUF", "USDLTL", "USDLVL", "USDPLN", "USDRON", "USDSEK", "USDCHF", "USDNOK", "USDHRK", "USDRUB", "USDTRY", "USDAUD", "USDBRL", "USDCAD", "USDCNY", "USDHKD", "USDIDR", "USDILS", "USDINR", "USDKRW", "USDMXN", "USDMYR", "USDNZD", "USDPHP", "USDSGD", "USDTHB", "USDZAR", "USDISK")&env=store://datatables.org/alltableswithkeys

11. currency-api

• Free & Blazing Fast response using CDN
• No Rate limits
• 150+ Currencies, Including Common Cryptocurrencies
• Daily Updated

Documentation: Link
Request: https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/fawazahmed0/currency-api@1/latest/currencies/eur/jpy.json
Request(Fallback): https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/fawazahmed0/currency-api@1/latest/currencies/eur/jpy.min.json
Response:

{
    "date": "2021-10-03",
    "jpy": 128.798673
}

Answer 2

The European Central Bank (ECB) also has the most reliable free feed that I know of. It contains approx 28 currencies and is updated at least daily.

http://www.ecb.int/stats/eurofxref/eurofxref-daily.xml

For more formats and tools see the ECB reference page: http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/index.en.html

Answer 3

This api is decommissioned

Yahoo has a YQL feature to get a whole bunch of currencies at once in XML or JSON. I've noticed the data is up to date by the minute where the ECB has day old data, and stops in the weekend.

http://query.yahooapis.com/v1/public/yql?q=select * from yahoo.finance.xchange where pair in ("USDEUR", "USDJPY", "USDBGN", "USDCZK", "USDDKK", "USDGBP", "USDHUF", "USDLTL", "USDLVL", "USDPLN", "USDRON", "USDSEK", "USDCHF", "USDNOK", "USDHRK", "USDRUB", "USDTRY", "USDAUD", "USDBRL", "USDCAD", "USDCNY", "USDHKD", "USDIDR", "USDILS", "USDINR", "USDKRW", "USDMXN", "USDMYR", "USDNZD", "USDPHP", "USDSGD", "USDTHB", "USDZAR", "USDISK")&env=store://datatables.org/alltableswithkeys

Here is their query builder, where you can test a query and copy the url:

http://developer.yahoo.com/yql/console/?q=show%20tables&env=store://datatables.org/alltableswithkeys#h=select%20*%20from%20yahoo.finance.xchange%20where%20pair%20in%20%28%22USDMXN%22%2C%20%22USDCHF%22%29

Answer 4

If you need a free and simple API for converting one currency to another, try free.currencyconverterapi.com.

Disclaimer, I'm the author of the website and I use it for one of my other websites.

The service is free to use even for commercial applications but offers no warranty. For performance reasons, the values are only updated every hour.

A sample conversion URL is: http://free.currencyconverterapi.com/api/v6/convert?q=EUR_PHP&compact=ultra&apiKey=sample-api-key which will return a json-formatted value, e.g. {"EUR_PHP":60.849184}

Answer 5

Here are some exchange APIs with PHP example.

[ Open Exchange Rates API ]

Provides 1,000 requests per month free. You must register and grab the App ID. The base currency USD for free account. Check the supported currencies and documentation.

// open exchange URL // valid app_id * REQUIRED *
$exchange_url = 'https://openexchangerates.org/api/latest.json';
$params = array(
    'app_id' => 'YOUR_APP_ID'
);

// make cURL request // parse JSON
$curl = curl_init();
curl_setopt_array($curl, array(
    CURLOPT_URL => $exchange_url . '?' . http_build_query($params),
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true
));
$response = json_decode(curl_exec($curl));
curl_close($curl);

if (!empty($response->rates)) {
    // convert 150 USD to JPY ( Japanese Yen )
    echo $response->rates->JPY * 150;
}

150 USD = 18039.09015 JPY

[ Currency Layer API ]

Provides 1,000 requests per month free. You must register and grab the Access KEY. Custom base currency is not supported in free account. Check the documentation.

$exchange_url = 'http://apilayer.net/api/live';
$params = array(
    'access_key' => 'YOUR_ACCESS_KEY',
    'source' => 'USD',
    'currencies' => 'JPY',
    'format' => 1 // 1 = JSON
);

// make cURL request // parse JSON
$curl = curl_init();
curl_setopt_array($curl, array(
    CURLOPT_URL => $exchange_url . '?' . http_build_query($params),
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true
));
$response = json_decode(curl_exec($curl));
curl_close($curl);

if (!empty($response->quotes)) {
    // convert 150 USD to JPY ( Japanese Yen )
    echo '150 USD = ' . $response->quotes->USDJPY * 150 . ' JPY';
}

150 USD = 18036.75045 JPY

Answer 6

You can try geoplugin

Beside the geolocation done by IP (but the IP is the provider IP, so not so accurate), they return currencies also and have a currency converter: see examples.

They have 111 currencies updated.

Answer 7

If you're looking for a ruby based solution for this problem, I recommend using the Google Calculator method a solution similar to the following: http://j.mp/QIC564

require 'faraday'
require 'faraday_middleware'
require 'json'

# Debug: 
# require "pry"


country_code_src = "USD"
country_code_dst = "INR"
connection = Faraday.get("http://www.google.com/ig/calculator?hl=en&q=1#{country_code_src}=?#{country_code_dst}")

currency_comparison_hash = eval connection.body #Google's output is not JSON, it's a hash

dst_currency_value, *dst_currency_text = *currency_comparison_hash[:rhs].split(' ')
dst_currency_value = dst_currency_value.to_f
dst_currency_text = dst_currency_text.join(' ')

puts "#{country_code_dst} -> #{dst_currency_value} (#{dst_currency_text} to 1 #{country_code_src})"

Answer 8

Here is one simple PHP Script which gets exchange rate between GBP and USD

<?php
$amount = urlencode("1");
$from_GBP0 = urlencode("GBP");
$to_usd= urlencode("USD");
$Dallor = "hl=en&q=$amount$from_GBP0%3D%3F$to_usd";
$US_Rate = file_get_contents("http://google.com/ig/calculator?".$Dallor);
$US_data = explode('"', $US_Rate);
$US_data = explode(' ', $US_data['3']);
$var_USD = $US_data['0'];
echo $to_usd;
echo $var_USD;
echo '<br/>'; 
?>

Google currency rates are not accurate google itself says ==> Google cannot guarantee the accuracy of the exchange rates used by the calculator. You should confirm current rates before making any transactions that could be affected by changes in the exchange rates. Foreign currency rates provided by Citibank N.A. are displayed under licence. Rates are for information purposes only and are subject to change without notice. Rates for actual transactions may vary and Citibank is not offering to enter into any transaction at any rate displayed.

Answer 9

For all newbie guys searching for some hint about currency conversion, take a look at this link. Datavoila

It helped med a lot regarding my own project in C#. Just in case the site disappears, I'll add the code below. Just add the below steps to your own project. Sorry about the formatting.

const string fromCurrency = "USD";
const string toCurrency = "EUR";
const double amount = 49.95;
// For other currency symbols see http://finance.yahoo.com/currency-converter/
// Clear the output editor //optional use, AFAIK
Output.Clear();

// Construct URL to query the Yahoo! Finance API
const string urlPattern = "http://finance.yahoo.com/d/quotes.csv?s={0}{1}=X&f=l1";
string url = String.Format(urlPattern, fromCurrency, toCurrency);

// Get response as string
string response = new WebClient().DownloadString(url);

// Convert string to number
double exchangeRate =
    double.Parse(response, System.Globalization.CultureInfo.InvariantCulture);

// Output the result
Output.Text = String.Format("{0} {1} = {2} {3}",
                            amount, fromCurrency,
                            amount * exchangeRate, toCurrency);