Currency converter calculator usd to aud

Major currencies in the world today take on the physical form of paper bills or coins which are easily carried on a person, but most of a person's currency is typically stored in digital accounts. The value of these currencies is backed by the promise of their issuing governments, which makes them fiat money currency declared by the government to be an official medium of payment but is not backed by a physical commodity.

Before fiat money existed, currencies were usually backed by a commodity such as gold or silver. While modern currency is physically represented by coins and paper bills, most large-scale currency transactions are done electronically.

Modern technology utilizes sophisticated currency exchange mechanisms and systems to exchange currencies between digital accounts rather than physically. Even the exchange of currency for everyday goods and services such as groceries or haircuts involves physical currencies less and less due to the growing popularity of debit cards, credit cards, and mobile payments. Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies operating independently of a central bank or authority, in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency as well as to verify the transfer of funds.

The current technology behind cryptocurrencies is called blockchain, which is a decentralized ledger of all transactions across a peer-to-peer network. A prominent feature of blockchain is that participants can confirm transactions without the need for a central clearing authority, such as a central bank or government. The value of cryptocurrencies fluctuates, just like a regular currency, and they can be traded in the same way as any other currency. Some experts say that there is a slight chance that cryptocurrencies become the currency of the future.

For the purposes of this calculator, Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency available for conversion at the moment. Currencies used in different countries are rarely, if ever, exactly equal in value. As a result, exchange rates the rate at which a currency is exchanged for another exist to enable the equal exchange of currencies.

Real-time exchange rates are supplied by the foreign exchange market forex , the same place where most currency transactions take place. The forex is a global, decentralized, over-the-counter market for the trading of currencies.

Each day, trillions of dollars US worth of currency are traded. The market functions at high speeds, with exchange rates changing every second. The most common forex transactions are exchanges between the U.

A forex quote always consists of two currencies, a base currency and a quote currency, sometimes called the counter currency. The following is an example of a forex quote:. The base currency always equals exactly one. In the real world, most exchange rates are given in terms of how much a U.

The euro is different in that it's given in terms of how much a euro is worth in U. When buying foreign currencies, there are usually two prices listed: the buying rate and the selling rate. They are sometimes called the "bid price" and "ask price" for the currency pair, respectively. Buying foreign currency from a bank or exchange broker involves the selling ask price, which is usually higher than the buying price because, like all merchants, currency brokers sell high and buy low.

In the real world, the exchange rates can be influenced by thousands of different factors. The following are a few:. Check live foreign currency exchange rates. Send money online fast, secure and easy. Create a chart for any currency pair in the world to see their currency history.

These currency charts use live mid-market rates, are easy to use, and are very reliable. Need to know when a currency hits a specific rate? The Xe Rate Alerts will let you know when the rate you need is triggered on your selected currency pairs. Check live rates, send money securely, set rate alerts, receive notifications and more. Scan me! Over 70 million downloads worldwide. Since , the Xe Currency Converter has provided free mid-market exchange rates for millions of users. Our latest currency calculator is a direct descendent of the fast and reliable original "Universal Currency Calculator" and of course it's still free!

Learn more about Xe , our latest money transfer services, and how we became known as the world's currency data authority. Xe Currency Converter Check live foreign currency exchange rates. Convert Send Charts Alerts. We use midmarket rates These are derived from the mid-point between the "buy" and "sell" transactional rates from global currency markets. They are not transactional rates. Learn more. EUR — Euro.