Business tools
What does your FX fee really cost?
Enter your fee in bps or percent. See the cost per transfer and per year.
How to calculate an FX fee
Three numbers decide it: how much you convert, what the fee is, and how often you do it. Change any of them above and the working below follows.
- 01
Express the fee as a decimal
Fees on currency conversions are quoted in basis points, and one basis point is 0.01%. To use the fee in a formula, divide the bps figure by 10,000: 50 bps becomes 0.005.
- 02
Multiply the amount by that decimal
To find the cost of a conversion, multiply the amount by the fee as a decimal: €100,000 × 0.005 = €500.
- 03
Multiply by how often you convert
Repeat it 12 times a year and the fee adds up to €6,000.
What is a basis point?
Basis points remove the ambiguity that appears when small rates are discussed in percent. Say a 0.5% fee rose by 0.1% and nobody can tell whether the fee is now 0.6% or 0.5005%. Say it rose by 10 bps and there is only one reading.
That is why finance quotes FX margins, interest-rate moves and fund fees in basis points.
What is FX margin on international payments?
FX fee, FX margin, exchange rate markup and spread are four names for the same cost: the gap between the rate you are given and the mid-market rate, the rate banks use between themselves.
On an international payment it is usually built into the exchange rate rather than shown as a fee line, which is why it is quoted in basis points and why it is easy to miss. To find yours, compare the rate you were offered with the mid-market rate at the same moment, and enter the difference above.
Basis points and FX fees
That depends on the amount, which is what this calculator is for. On €100,000, 50 bps is €500 per transfer. Repeat it monthly and it is €6,000 a year.
Divide by 100. 75 bps = 0.75%. To go the other way, multiply: 1.2% = 120 bps.
Because FX margins are small enough that percentages hide them. The difference between 20 bps and 60 bps reads as 0.2% versus 0.6% on paper; on a million euros a year it is €4,000.
Often inside the exchange rate itself. Many providers quote a rate with their margin built in rather than a separate fee line. Comparing the rate you are offered with the mid-market rate reveals the real margin.
It varies widely with provider, volume and currency pair, so there is no single number that holds. The reliable comparison is to ask each provider for their all-in cost over the mid-market rate, in basis points.
Know your all-in rate, consolidate volume with fewer providers, and prefer rails where pricing is visible. Stablecoin settlement, for example, moves value at any hour with the fee agreed before you send.
Yes. Margin, markup and spread all describe the difference between your rate and the mid-market rate. Providers pick the word. The cost is the same.
See what your payment volume really costs
Send us your corridors and your monthly volume, and we will price them against what you pay today.