What is a wholesale FX rate?

Definition

A wholesale FX rate is the price institutions pay to exchange currency in size, close to the interbank mid-market rate, without the markup added in retail and commercial channels.

The mid-market rate is the midpoint between the best bid and ask in the interbank market. Nobody outside that market trades exactly at mid, but wholesale participants trade near it, while retail and SME channels can carry markups of one to several percent, often presented as a zero-fee conversion with the cost hidden in the rate.

Access to wholesale pricing has traditionally required trading volume, credit relationships, and treasury infrastructure. Part of the pitch of stablecoin FX platforms is collapsing that access barrier: Codex FX quotes one wholesale rate per trade, the rate you see is the rate you settle at, and the fee is billed separately instead of hidden in the spread. When you compare providers, quote the same corridor at the same size and compare each quote against mid.

Related terms

Corridor liquidityCorridor liquidity is the capacity to convert and settle money in one specific currency corridor, at the size you need, when you need it, without moving the price against yourself.FX corridorAn FX corridor is a specific currency pair moved between two markets, such as USD to BRL, treated as its own route with its own liquidity, rules, and settlement behavior.Stablecoin on-rampA stablecoin on-ramp is a service that converts fiat currency into stablecoins: money leaves a bank account and the equivalent value arrives onchain, minus the conversion cost.

PreviousCorridor liquidityNextStablecoin on-ramp