What the ECB reference rate is
Since 4 January 1999 the European Central Bank has published the euro reference rates every day. They state how many units of a foreign currency equal one euro. The list currently covers 29 currencies, from the US dollar and British pound to the złoty, the Swiss franc and the South African rand. Together with the euro, the currency converter can therefore convert between 30 currencies.
The rates are usually given with five significant digits. That is why the US dollar shows 1.1367, the Japanese yen 180.57 and the British pound 0.85986.
How the rate is set
The reference rates are based on a daily concertation procedure between central banks within and outside the European System of Central Banks. It normally takes place at 2:10 pm Central European Time. The rates therefore reflect the market situation at that moment. They are published at around 4 pm on the ECB website, among other formats as a table and as a machine-readable file.
So the reference rate is neither an average over the day nor a closing rate. It is a snapshot. Market rates may differ from it during the day.
On which days rates are published
The ECB publishes only on days when the European payment system is open. There are no new rates at weekends, nor on New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May, and 25 and 26 December. On these days the last published rate continues to apply. The currency converter therefore always shows which day the rate used comes from.
For information only
One important point is often overlooked: the ECB expressly publishes the reference rates for information purposes only. It advises against using them for transactions. No bank is obliged to exchange at this rate, and the ECB itself does not exchange money for private individuals.
Nevertheless, the reference rate is very useful in everyday life. It is neutral, freely accessible and contains no markup. That makes it the ideal yardstick for comparing offers from banks, card issuers and exchange offices. How this works is shown in Exchange rate markups on cards and cash.
What the reference rate is used for
Companies, authorities and statistical offices often rely on the reference rates, for example to value invoices in foreign currency or to make economic data comparable. EU law uses them too: card issuers must state their conversion charges for payments in EU currencies as a markup on the reference rate.
For VAT, Germany has its own rule. Under Section 16(6) of the German VAT Act (UStG), amounts in foreign currency are generally converted at the monthly average rates published by the Federal Ministry of Finance. So for tax purposes you should not rely on the ECB's daily rate alone and should seek tax advice if in doubt.
Why currencies disappear
The list of reference rates changes over time. When a country adopts the euro, its currency is dropped. The Croatian kuna disappeared when Croatia joined the euro in 2023, and since Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026 there has been no rate for the lev either. The ECB suspended the rate for the Russian rouble in March 2022.
How the currency converter uses the rates
Our server loads the reference rates and the history of the last 90 days directly from the ECB and updates them every few hours. Your browser only asks our own server for the rates, without sending the amount or currencies. If the ECB cannot be reached, the converter uses a stored, dated snapshot and tells you so.
The converter calculates rates between two foreign currencies via the euro. How much purchasing power your money loses over the years through inflation is a different question. The inflation calculator answers it.
In short
1. Every working day at around 4 pm CET, the ECB publishes rates for 29 currencies.
2. They are based on a concertation between central banks at 2:10 pm CET.
3. The rates are for information; you cannot exchange money at them.
4. As a neutral yardstick they are ideal for spotting markups.