What is the mid-market rate?

The short answer

When you search "dollars to euros" online, the number you see is almost always a mid-market rate. It sits halfway between the buy price and the sell price on the wholesale currency market.

It is a fair reference because it contains no fee and no margin. It is also not a price you can usually get as a customer.

Why you rarely get it

Banks, card networks, exchange offices and transfer services earn money by changing the rate, charging a fee, or both. A desk that advertises no commission may still quote a rate well below the mid-market one.

The gap tends to be widest where customers have the fewest alternatives, such as airport exchange desks and tourist areas.

How to measure the markup

Compare the rate you are offered with the mid-market rate on the same day. The markup is the difference, as a share of the mid-market rate.

• Look up today's mid-market rate for the pair.
• Find the rate you are offered, or divide the amount you would receive by the amount you give.
• Subtract the offered rate from the mid-market rate, then divide by the mid-market rate.

Example: if the mid-market rate is 1 euro = 1.10 US dollars and a counter offers 1.04, you receive about 5.5 percent less than the reference. The numbers here are an illustration, not a live quote.

What to do about it

• Ask for the total you will receive, not the rate alone, and compare totals.
• Check any fixed fee against the size of the transaction. A flat fee weighs more on a small amount.
• Compare two or three options before you commit, especially for larger sums.

Where Divix fits

Divix shows the mid-market rate with a freshness label, so you can see how far an offer sits from the reference. It is a calculator, not an exchange, and it adds no markup of its own.

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