Top Reasons People Succeed In The Exchange Rate API Industry

When it comes to finance and trade, the currency is a crucial component. Businesses that deal with foreign marketplaces require up-to-date information on currencies and their quickly fluctuating values. 

It is currently possible to trade with anyone from anywhere using certain technology. If your company deals with multiple financial markets throughout the world on a daily basis, you’ll need a tool that can convert and exchange currencies swiftly and easily. It will help you operate your company more efficiently. 

An Exchange Rate API makes it easy for businesses to stay up to date on current rates and convert or exchange currencies accurately and quickly.

Many of the finest APIs also provide historical data on foreign currencies and the most popular exchange rates over the last few years. One exchange rate  API that provides this functionality is currencylayer. 

It is a real-time JSON API that provides reliable exchange rates and currency conversion for your business. In this article, we will discuss the main factors that allow people to succeed in the exchange rate API industry.

How can developers succeed in the Exchange Rate API industry? Is the API secure?

APIs are used by businesses to link services and transmit data. APIs that have been broken, disclosed, or hacked may have revealed sensitive medical, financial, and/or personal information. As a result, security is a top priority when designing and creating RESTful and other APIs.

Furthermore, a breach of the backend system isn’t the only technique to abuse APIs. A multitude of attacks can arise if an API is not adequately secured.

To make it as secure as possible, the currencylayer API offers various layers of security settings. First, a personal API access key is assigned to each user, a unique combination of letters and numbers that can be used to access any API’s data endpoints. Then, to authenticate with the currencylayer API, simply attach your access_key to your preferred endpoint URL:

https://data.fixer.io/api/latest

? access_key = API_KEY

In the event of an access key leak, the API allows its users to change their access key using their accounts promptly.

Furthermore, the API enables customers to connect to the currencylayer API and all its data through it using a secure connection (industry-standard SSL) according to their subscription. A secure connection can be established by simply appending an s to the HTTP Protocol.

How important is documentation and user support?

The most critical feature of a good and effective API is its documentation and user support. Good documentation helps foster wider adoption of public APIs. 

Making it easier for your partner companies to utilize your API will affect whether they choose your API over a competitor’s API. Good documentation for internal APIs allows your software developers to link application services quickly and efficiently.

The faster developers utilize APIs created by others; the faster new application services can be released. Additionally, by releasing and publicizing API documentation, you can raise awareness of the existence of a new API.

However, using examples and, preferably, tutorials distinguishes exceptional documentation from good documentation. This is what instructs the user on how to use your API and where to begin. It helps people get their bearings and load your API into their heads.

At currencylayer, the developers come first. Currencylayer has comprehensive documentation, accessible code samples, and a basic API layout that will allow you to construct the API in approximately 10 minutes. 

Thanks to the documentation’s simple instructions and code examples, which enable quick implementation at any level. Reading the documentation will teach you about API methods and potential flaws.

If you have any unanswered questions, please contact Fixer, and the team will be happy to help you. As a result, our currency conversion API is very user-friendly.

What is the importance of error handling in Currency Exchange APIs?

In APIs, error codes are incredibly useful. The most basic approach for a developer to communicate failure to a user is through error codes in the response stage of an API. 

Following the initial request step, this stage is direct contact between the client and the API. It’s frequently the first and most crucial step in informing the user of a failure and kicking off the issue resolution process.

A user has no control over when or what type of mistake is generated. Error circumstances frequently emerge in scenarios that appear to the user to be completely random and suspicious. 

Error answers are the only genuinely constant, consistent communication the user can rely on when an error occurs. In the way that they both clarify the situation and communicate the expected functionality, error codes have an inferred value.

Error handling is included in the currencylayer’s API, making it easier for users to diagnose problems. A JSON error is returned whenever a requested resource is unavailable or an API call fails for some reason. 

A code and a description are always included with errors. The API supports many other failures, and it returns a code for whatever problem it encounters. Visit the currencylayer’s official documentation to learn more about error codes.

How does the stability and consistency of an API contribute to its success?

Currencylayer is a simple REST API that delivers real-time and historical exchange rates for 168 global currencies and currency pairs in universally useable JSON format that can be used in any of your applications.

Data on spot exchange rates are received in real-time from multiple major forex data suppliers, checked, processed, and given hourly every 10 minutes, or even inside the 60-second market window.

The currencylayer API enables currency converters, mobile applications, financial software components, and back-office systems all around the world by providing the most representative forex market value available (“midpoint” value) for every API request.

The currencylayer API makes getting real-time foreign exchange rates and currency conversions easy for website visitors. The API has a number of endpoints that can be used to do various tasks. 

Real-time exchange rates, a list of all accessible Fixer currencies, historical currency rates dating back to 1999, moving any amount of money between single currencies, and daily fluctuation statistics are all available through the endpoints.

In addition, the currencylayer API’s system status is continuously checked 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Every effort is taken to assure the greatest possible level of availability and consistency, and we are delighted to boast a nearly 100 percent (99.9%) uptime rate calculated over the last 12 months. This makes it one of the most stable and consistent currency APIs globally.

What other features make an amazing Exchange Rate API? 

The simplicity of use and adoption of a good API is maybe the most significant feature of a good API. A user must be able to set up an API and ensure that they are able to get up and running with at least a basic implementation in a matter of minutes.

After registering with Currencylayer, users can immediately begin using the API. It supports a variety of programming languages and includes sample code for each to help with integration and error management. 

Additionally, the API has support for JSON Callbacks, which may be easily implemented into your API endpoints by utilizing the callback option.

Example API Request:

https://api.currencylayer.com/live

? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY

& callback = CALLBACK_FUNCTION

Currencylayer’s API has many endpoints, each with its own feature. Some of the most useful endpoints include:

Real-time Rates: The currencylayer API’s live endpoint allows users to get real-time exchange rates. The currencies parameter can optionally be used to designate an extra source currency and particular output currencies.

Example API request:

https://api.currencylayer.com/live

? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY

& currencies = AUD,EUR,GBP,PLN

Historical Rates: The currencylayer API also gives up-to-date historical exchange rate data dating back to 1999. By simply passing a valid date (Format: YYYY-MM-DD) to the API’s historical endpoint, historical rates can be obtained.

Example API request:

https://api.currencylayer.com/historical

? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY

& date = 2005-02-01

Customizable Endpoints: A good API also has a variety of customizable endpoints. For instance, the currencylayer API has up to five customizable endpoints that provide various types of data. Following are examples of some endpoints that currencylayer provides:

// "live" - get the most recent exchange rate data

https://api.currencylayer.com/live

// "historical" - get historical rates for a specific day

https://api.currencylayer.com/historical?date=YYYY-MM-DD

// "convert" - convert one currency to another

https://api.currencylayer.com/convert?from=EUR&to=GBP&amount=100

// "timeframe" - request exchange rates for a specific period of time

https://api.currencylayer.com/timeframe?start_date=2015-01-01&end_date=2015-05-01

// "change" - request any currency's change parameters (margin, percentage)

https://api.currencylayer.com/change?currencies=USD,EUR

All in all, currency exchange rates fluctuate. And, if you’re in international business, you’ll need to know the correct values in order to make sensible business judgments and exchange currencies smoothly. 

Currency Exchange APIs give accurate data that allows you to make smarter judgments while also saving you time and money on unneeded efforts.

An API that is secure, accurate, consistent, supports multiple currencies, and has strong documentation leads to success. The best example of such an API is currencylayer. 

In this article, you have learned the main reasons people succeed in the exchange rate API industry.

Click here, and start writing API queries to experience the same success.