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 - October 6, 2008
CurrencyIDRate
Australia DollarAUD1.3362
Brazil ReaiBRL2.1213
Bulgaria LevaBGN1.4345
Canada DollarCAD1.0846
China Yuan RenminbiCNY6.8430
Croatia KunaHRK5.2255
Czech Republic KorunyCZK18.0981
Denmark KronerDKK5.4715
Estonia KrooniEEK11.4762
EuroEUR0.7335
Hong Kong DollarHKD7.7677
Hungary ForintHUF182.5436
Iceland KronurISK143.0248
Indonesia RupiahsIDR9,590.00
Japan YenJPY103.2566
Latvian LatLVL0.5204
Lithuanian LitaLTL2.5325
Malaysia RinggitMYR3.4875
Mexico PesoMXN11.3312
New Zealand DollarNZD1.5418
Norway KronerNOK6.1229
Philippines PesoPHP47.3009
Poland ZlotychPLN2.5263
Romania New LeuRON2.8920
Russia RubleRUB26.1284
Singapore DollarSGD1.4626
Slovakia KorunySKK22.2642
South Africa RandZAR8.6581
South Korea WonKRW1,286.63
Sweden KronorSEK7.1630
Switzerland FrancCHF1.1394
Thailand BahtTHB34.4052
Turkey New LiraTRY1.3342
United Kingdom PoundGBP0.5668
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 £14.14, or €18.30. Oh, just in case you were curious, it would be 27.06 Canadian dollars, or ¥2,576.25 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? $25.75.

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