Currency Exchange Rates with PHP & XML

So you developed this fantastic business plan. You've started your business and you've got a web site. You're selling your product or service on the web. Everything is going great! All of a sudden, you are doing business all over the world. Your customers are now in different countries, using different currencies. How are they going to know how much something is going to cost them in their currency? Using PHP and its XML parsing capabilities, you can provide prices in many different currencies.

Okay, before we start, let's talk about some boring legal stuff. The reference rates below obtained from the European Central Band and are based on the regular daily concertation procedure between central banks within and outside the European System of Central Banks, which normally takes place at 2.15 p.m. ECB time (CET).

The below listed currency exchange rates are examples that are updated only once daily (Monday through Friday except holidays) and believed to be correct as of the date indicated. However, as examples, these rates should not be assumed to be entirely accurate and should not be used in financial transactions. The chart below, lists the equivalent amounts that correspond to one United States Dollar.

Select a different base currency:

European Central Bank
Reference rates - July 24, 2008
CurrencyIDRate
Australia DollarAUD1.0410
Brazil ReaiBRL1.5767
Bulgaria LevaBGN1.2476
Canada DollarCAD1.0099
China Yuan RenminbiCNY6.8289
Croatia KunaHRK4.6060
Czech Republic KorunyCZK15.0411
Denmark KronerDKK4.7596
Estonia KrooniEEK9.9806
EuroEUR0.6379
Hong Kong DollarHKD7.7994
Hungary ForintHUF148.1789
Iceland KronurISK80.6085
Indonesia RupiahsIDR9,132.00
Japan YenJPY107.7502
Latvian LatLVL0.4487
Lithuanian LitaLTL2.2025
Malaysia RinggitMYR3.2530
Mexico PesoMXN10.0225
New Zealand DollarNZD1.3488
Norway KronerNOK5.1668
Philippines PesoPHP44.0550
Poland ZlotychPLN2.0541
Romania New LeuRON2.2800
Russia RubleRUB23.3874
Singapore DollarSGD1.3618
Slovakia KorunySKK19.3685
South Africa RandZAR7.5656
South Korea WonKRW1,006.50
Sweden KronorSEK6.0385
Switzerland FrancCHF1.0380
Thailand BahtTHB33.4598
Turkey New LiraTRY1.2045
United Kingdom PoundGBP0.5033
United States DollarUSD1.0000

So What?

All right, showing a chart like that is a neat trick, but so what? How does that help you as a web developer? Let's say, for example, you are in the United States and your product sells for $24.95 in U.S. dollars. How much is that in U. K. pounds, or in Euros? Easy! It would be £12.56, or €15.92. Oh, just in case you were curious, it would be 25.20 Canadian dollars, or ¥2,688.37 in Japanese yen.

Note that all the figures in the preceding paragraph are calculated live, based on the above exchange rates! Are you beginning to see the possibilities? Let's say you're in Hong Kong. You sell your product for 200 Hong Kong dollars. What would the price be for someone in the United States? $25.64.

If I have your attention, please read on to see how to perform currency conversions