Japanese Yen to Ripple exchange rates aren't all the same.
The total cost you are charged by your bank or foreign exchange provider consists of a margin from the interbank mid-rate plus fees.
These margins and fees vary significantly for International Money Transfers and Travel Money transactions as shown below.
When determining the best time to make a foreign exchange transaction, in this case the JPY vs XRP, you should pay attention to the recent market trends for both currencies.
Japanese Yen (JPY)
The yen was the star performer in the weeks leading up to this report (May-17), with appreciation driven by a flight to safety following a serious escalation in the US-China trade war. The benchmark yen rate, USD/JPY, was down in the mid-109s, having been as high as 112.4 in late April. Relatively speaking, against their April highs, other yen rates had fallen even more (NZD/JPY was down from 76 to 71.6).
In May, HSBC warned against thinking that yen-supporting safe-haven flows would soon stop, implying that the yen could have more upside potential in the near term. The bank highlighted the “desolation and destruction” (an exaggeration) present in many major economies and currencies. “You can never get too high,” the bank’s chief analyst said.
Last week was a tough week for most crypto currencies with heavy losses across the board, getting worse over the weekend. Bitcoin is down around 7% since the end of last week and has sunk below the symbolic $US10K mark (again).
Why can't I just get the JPY/XRP market rate I see online or in the media?
The mid-rate is the rate you will see quoted online or the news. It is actually just the half-way point (hence mid-rate) between
the last rate at which the JPY / XRP was traded (bought or sold) in the international markets.
All foreign exchange providers charge a fee for providing their service and this fee is usually contained within the exchange rate margin (or difference to the mid-rate).
Some providers such as Transferwise will quote you the mid-rate (or close to) and charge a separate percentage fee.
Getting a good market rate is mainly about timing however the transaction margin
you end up being charged can be considerably reduced by around a few percent (of total amount being exchanged) for
travel money and possibly over 5% to 6% when sending money.
The exact potential savings depends on the currencies being exchanged and the amount you are transferring and if you are willing to shop around.
