Data & Methodology Guide

The column label Rate (AED/INR) reads as "destination currency per 1 unit of source currency."The exchange rate shown for each provider is the actual customer rate — the rate the sender receives when they initiate a transfer. It is always ≤ the mid-market rate, because the difference is how the provider makes money on the FX conversion.

Provider Rate = Mid-Market Rate × (1 − Spread%)

Examples — sending AED → INR

The label Rate (AED/INR) means: 1 AED = [Rate] INR. A rate of 25.449 means the sender gets 25.449 INR per AED sent. Higher = better for the sender.

The spread is the hidden FX markup a provider charges by giving you a worse exchange rate than the true mid-market rate. It is expressed as a percentage of the mid-market rate.

Spread % = ((Mid-Market Rate − Provider Rate) / Mid-Market Rate) × 100

Example — Al Ansari Exchange on AED 1,000 → INR

Mid-market rate (AED/INR): 25.50
Al Ansari customer rate:   25.3521

Spread % = ((25.50 − 25.3521) / 25.50) × 100
         = (0.1479 / 25.50) × 100
         = 0.58%

This 0.58% is silently deducted from every transaction — no line item, no receipt entry. On a AED 1,000 transfer, that is AED 5.80 lost in the FX rate alone, before any flat fee is charged.

The flat fee is a fixed charge deducted from the send amount (in source currency) before conversion. It does not scale with the amount sent.

Fee % converts the flat fee into a percentage of the standard send amount so it can be compared fairly across providers.

Fee % = (Flat Fee / Send Amount) × 100

Example: Wise charges AED 10 flat on a AED 1,000 transfer:

Fee % = (10 / 1000) × 100 = 1.00%

Standard send amounts used by Raly

These amounts are calibrated to represent a typical mid-sized remittance in each market, consistent with World Bank RPW methodology ($200–$500 equivalent).

True Cost % is the single most important number for comparing providers. It combines the flat fee and the FX spread into one all-in cost figure, expressed as a percentage of the amount sent.

True Cost % = Fee % + Spread %

Example — Al Ansari Exchange on AED 1,000 → INR

Flat Fee: AED 10  →  Fee % = 1.00%
Spread:             = 0.58%
                      ──────
True Cost %         = 1.58%

On a AED 1,000 transfer, this means AED 15.80 of total value is lost — AED 10 in fees and AED 5.80 in FX markup.

World Bank RPW benchmark — Issue 50, Q2 2024

Recv on Send shows exactly how many units of the destination currency the recipient receives when the sender sends the standard amount. It accounts for both the FX spread and the flat fee deduction.

Recv on Send = (Send Amount − Flat Fee) × Provider Rate

Example — AED 1,000 → INR via Western Union

Flat Fee: AED 15
Rate:     25.296 INR/AED

Recv = (1000 − 15) × 25.296
     = 985 × 25.296
     = 24,917 INR

Compare with LuLu Exchange on the same corridor:

Flat Fee: AED 0
Rate:     25.50 INR/AED

Recv = (1000 − 0) × 25.50
     = 25,500 INR

Difference: +583 INR for the recipient using LuLu

The recipient gets 583 INR more using LuLu — that is the real-world impact of True Cost %.

Settlement describes how quickly the recipient actually receives the funds in their account. Measured from the moment the sender initiates and completes the transfer.

Settlement by destination country

Note: Banks are consistently slower than fintechs and exchange houses. The World Bank RPW (Issue 50, June 2024) confirms that non-bank RSPs pre-fund transactions to offer faster delivery.

Payout Methods describe all the ways the recipient can collect their money. Varies by destination country and provider.

Payout availability by destination

The Raly Score is a 1–10 composite score that summarises the overall quality of a provider on a given corridor. Higher is better. Designed for fintechs and platform builders to quickly rank providers without doing manual math.

Base Score  = max(0, 10 − (True Cost % × 1.5))
Speed Bonus = +0.5 if settlement includes "Instant"
Wallet Bonus= +0.3 if payout methods include a mobile wallet
Raly Score  = min(10, Base Score + Speed Bonus + Wallet Bonus)

The base score starts at 10 (perfect) and deducts 1.5 points for every 1% of true cost. Speed and wallet bonuses reward providers that offer real-time delivery and broad last-mile access.

Scoring examples

Score colour coding

The mid-market rate (also called the interbank rate or "real" rate) is the midpoint between buy and sell prices on global currency markets. No retail provider gives customers the mid-market rate — the gap between it and the provider rate is the FX spread.

Raly uses the mid-market rate as the zero-markup baseline for all spread calculations. Live rates are fetched dynamically from XE.com via the @fawazahmed0/currency-api.

Reference rates used (March 22–23, 2026)