lineofflight Wise Exchange Rate API
Query real-time and historical mid-market rates from Wise for troubleshooting and data validation.
Endpoints
Base: https://api.wise.com/v1/rates
Current rates
# Single pair
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $WISE_API_KEY" \
'https://api.wise.com/v1/rates?source=EUR&target=USD' | jq
# All targets for a source (omit target entirely)
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $WISE_API_KEY" \
'https://api.wise.com/v1/rates?source=EUR' | jq
target only accepts a single currency. Comma-separated lists (target=USD,GBP,JPY) return 400 Bad Request. For multiple pairs from the same source, omit target to get all ~163 currencies in one call and filter the response locally. Loop per-pair only as a last resort.
Historical rate at a specific time
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $WISE_API_KEY" \
'https://api.wise.com/v1/rates?source=EUR&target=USD&time=2025-06-15T12:00:00' | jq
Historical rate series
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $WISE_API_KEY" \
'https://api.wise.com/v1/rates?source=EUR&target=USD&from=2025-06-01&to=2025-06-30&group=day' | jq
Parameters
| Param | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
source |
Source currency (required) | EUR |
target |
Single target currency (omit for all) | USD |
time |
Single historical timestamp (ISO 8601) | 2025-06-15T12:00:00 |
from |
Period start (date or timestamp) | 2025-06-01 |
to |
Period end (date or timestamp, tz offset ok) | 2025-06-30T23:59:59+0100 |
group |
Grouping interval for series | day, hour, minute |
Response
[
{
"rate": 1.08234,
"source": "EUR",
"target": "USD",
"time": "2025-06-15T12:00:00+0000"
}
]
Always returns an array. Historical series returns one entry per group interval.
Rate limit
500 requests/minute. Plenty for ad-hoc troubleshooting.
Comparing with Frankfurter
# Frankfurter blended (multi-target OK here)
curl -s 'http://localhost:8080/v2/rates?base=EUR"es=USD,GBP,JPY' | jq
# Wise current: one call for all targets, filter locally
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $WISE_API_KEY" \
'https://api.wise.com/v1/rates?source=EUR' \
| jq '.[] | select(.target | IN("USD","GBP","JPY"))'
Deviation: abs(frankfurter - wise) / wise * 100
| Deviation | Assessment |
|---|---|
| < 0.1% | Excellent |
| 0.1-0.5% | Acceptable (institutional vs real-time spread) |
| > 0.5% | Investigate — stale data or provider outlier |
| > 1.0% | Likely data issue — check individual provider rates |
Currency support
Not all currencies work as source. Exotic currencies (MMK, NPR, KGS, etc.) often return 400 Bad Request when used as source. Always use a major currency (EUR, USD, GBP) as source and put the exotic currency in target.
# WRONG — will 400:
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $WISE_API_KEY" \
'https://api.wise.com/v1/rates?source=MMK&target=USD'
# RIGHT:
curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $WISE_API_KEY" \
'https://api.wise.com/v1/rates?source=USD&target=MMK'
Notes
- Wise rates are real-time; Frankfurter rates are daily institutional snapshots. Some spread is normal.
- For historical comparison, use
timeparam with the date you're checking, notfrom/to. - This is for internal validation only, Wise is NOT a Frankfurter provider.
- API docs: https://docs.wise.com/api-reference/rate