Currency conversion: Calculator vs. PayPal
I was about to make a payment through PayPal to a seller in Britain, when it occurred to me to check the currency conversion. According to PayPal:
PayPal's Exchange Rate as of Oct. 31, 2006:
1 U.S. Dollar = 0.513727 Pounds Sterling
which resulted in £6.50 = $12.66.
I opened Calculator, updated the currency exchange rates (it said Pound Sterling was updated), entered £6.50, and converted to dollars, resulting in $12.34. IOW, according to Calculator, 1 U.S. Dollar = 0.526676 Pounds Sterling.
This is a difference of 2.5%, curiously nearly the same as PayPal's payment fee (2.9%).
According to Calculator's Help, "Calculator only supports currencies whose exchange rates are posted by the International Monetary Fund." So where, exactly, does Calculator get its exchange rates?
I did a Google search, which found:
1) According to Google:
1 U.S. dollar = 0.527370531 British pounds
2) According to the " Universal Currency Converter":
1.00 USD = 0.526063 GBP
3) According to Yahoo:
1.00 USD = 0.5258 GBP
So it looks like Calculator is substantially in agreement with the world in general.
So where is PayPal getting their exchange rates -- which appear (big surprise) to profit PayPal?
PowerBook G4 17" 1.5GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1GB RAM, 80GB HD, DVD-RAM SuperDrive
PayPal's Exchange Rate as of Oct. 31, 2006:
1 U.S. Dollar = 0.513727 Pounds Sterling
which resulted in £6.50 = $12.66.
I opened Calculator, updated the currency exchange rates (it said Pound Sterling was updated), entered £6.50, and converted to dollars, resulting in $12.34. IOW, according to Calculator, 1 U.S. Dollar = 0.526676 Pounds Sterling.
This is a difference of 2.5%, curiously nearly the same as PayPal's payment fee (2.9%).
According to Calculator's Help, "Calculator only supports currencies whose exchange rates are posted by the International Monetary Fund." So where, exactly, does Calculator get its exchange rates?
I did a Google search, which found:
1) According to Google:
1 U.S. dollar = 0.527370531 British pounds
2) According to the " Universal Currency Converter":
1.00 USD = 0.526063 GBP
3) According to Yahoo:
1.00 USD = 0.5258 GBP
So it looks like Calculator is substantially in agreement with the world in general.
So where is PayPal getting their exchange rates -- which appear (big surprise) to profit PayPal?
PowerBook G4 17" 1.5GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1GB RAM, 80GB HD, DVD-RAM SuperDrive
