Interbank rate

The interbank rate is the exchange rate at which large banks transact with each other in the wholesale currency market. Volumes are measured in millions of units of currency per trade; spreads at this level are extremely tight (often 0.01-0.05 percentage points).

For practical retail purposes, the interbank rate is synonymous with the mid-market rate — both refer to the midpoint between the wholesale bid and ask prices. The ECB’s daily reference rate is derived from interbank quotes; Reuters and Bloomberg publish near-real-time interbank snapshots; Convertitive’s currency converters use the ECB-derived rate.

You won’t get the interbank rate as a retail customer. Retail conversions add a spread of 0.3% (Wise) to 4%+ (traditional bank wires) on top.