Skip to main content
This guide shows how to fetch live NGN exchange rates and build a bidirectional currency converter — the same feature NGN Market uses on its forex page. Users can type an amount in NGN and see the equivalent in USD, GBP, EUR, and more, or convert the other way around. Endpoint used:
  • GET /forex/current (Free plan) — all current NGN rates in one call

​
How the rates work

The API returns rates as how much foreign currency one Naira buys. For example: 
{ "source_currency": "NGN", "target_currency": "USD", "rate": 0.000623 }
This means ₦1 = $0.000623, so to convert:
  • NGN → USD: amount_ngn × rate
  • USD → NGN: amount_usd ÷ rate

​
Step 1: Fetch all rates

One call returns every supported currency pair. 
curl https://api.ngnmarket.com/v1/forex/current \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ngm_live_YOUR_KEY"

​
Sample response (trimmed)

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "base_currency": "NGN",
    "last_updated": "2026-04-21",
    "rates": [
      { "source_currency": "NGN", "target_currency": "USD", "rate": 0.000623 },
      { "source_currency": "NGN", "target_currency": "GBP", "rate": 0.000491 },
      { "source_currency": "NGN", "target_currency": "EUR", "rate": 0.000574 },
      { "source_currency": "NGN", "target_currency": "CAD", "rate": 0.000856 },
      { "source_currency": "NGN", "target_currency": "CNY", "rate": 0.004512 },
      { "source_currency": "NGN", "target_currency": "AED", "rate": 0.002288 }
    ]
  }
}

​
Step 2: Conversion logic

function convert({ amount, from, to, rates }) {
  if (from === 'NGN') {
    // NGN → foreign
    return amount * rates[to];
  } else if (to === 'NGN') {
    // foreign → NGN
    return amount / rates[from];
  } else {
    // foreign → foreign (route through NGN)
    const inNgn = amount / rates[from];
    return inNgn * rates[to];
  }
}

// Examples
const rates = await fetchRates();
console.log(convert({ amount: 100000, from: 'NGN', to: 'USD', rates })); // ₦100,000 → USD
console.log(convert({ amount: 500,    from: 'USD', to: 'NGN', rates })); // $500 → NGN
console.log(convert({ amount: 200,    from: 'USD', to: 'GBP', rates })); // $200 → GBP

​
React component (bidirectional)

Typing in either input updates the other in real time.
React
import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';

const API_KEY    = 'ngm_live_YOUR_KEY';
const CURRENCIES = ['USD', 'GBP', 'EUR', 'CAD', 'CNY', 'AED'];

async function fetchRates() {
  const res = await fetch('https://api.ngnmarket.com/v1/forex/current', {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${API_KEY}` },
  });
  const { data } = await res.json();
  return Object.fromEntries(data.rates.map(r => [r.target_currency, r.rate]));
}

export function CurrencyConverter() {
  const [rates,      setRates]     = useState({});
  const [currency,   setCurrency]  = useState('USD');
  const [ngnAmount,  setNgnAmount] = useState('');
  const [fxAmount,   setFxAmount]  = useState('');

  useEffect(() => { fetchRates().then(setRates); }, []);

  const rate = rates[currency];

  function handleNgnChange(val) {
    setNgnAmount(val);
    setFxAmount(rate && val ? (parseFloat(val) * rate).toFixed(4) : '');
  }

  function handleFxChange(val) {
    setFxAmount(val);
    setNgnAmount(rate && val ? (parseFloat(val) / rate).toFixed(2) : '');
  }

  return (
    <div>
      <label>
        NGN (₦)
        <input
          type="number"
          value={ngnAmount}
          onChange={e => handleNgnChange(e.target.value)}
          placeholder="0.00"
        />
      </label>

      <select value={currency} onChange={e => { setCurrency(e.target.value); setFxAmount(''); }}>
        {CURRENCIES.map(c => <option key={c} value={c}>{c}</option>)}
      </select>

      <label>
        {currency}
        <input
          type="number"
          value={fxAmount}
          onChange={e => handleFxChange(e.target.value)}
          placeholder="0.00"
        />
      </label>

      {rate && (
        <p>1 NGN = {rate.toFixed(6)} {currency}</p>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

​
Vanilla JavaScript (with a rate table)

Display all rates alongside the converter:
JavaScript
const API_KEY    = 'ngm_live_YOUR_KEY';
const CURRENCIES = ['USD', 'GBP', 'EUR', 'CAD', 'CNY', 'AED'];

async function init() {
  const res    = await fetch('https://api.ngnmarket.com/v1/forex/current', {
    headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${API_KEY}` },
  });
  const { data } = await res.json();
  const rates  = Object.fromEntries(data.rates.map(r => [r.target_currency, r.rate]));

  // Render rates table
  const tbody = document.querySelector('#rates-table tbody');
  data.rates.forEach(({ target_currency, rate }) => {
    const row = tbody.insertRow();
    row.innerHTML = `
      <td>${target_currency}</td>
      <td>${(1 / rate).toLocaleString(undefined, { maximumFractionDigits: 2 })}</td>
      <td>${rate.toFixed(6)}</td>
    `;
  });

  // Wire up converter inputs
  const ngnInput = document.getElementById('ngn-input');
  const fxInput  = document.getElementById('fx-input');
  const fxSelect = document.getElementById('fx-select');

  ngnInput.addEventListener('input', () => {
    const rate = rates[fxSelect.value];
    fxInput.value = rate ? (parseFloat(ngnInput.value) * rate).toFixed(4) : '';
  });

  fxInput.addEventListener('input', () => {
    const rate = rates[fxSelect.value];
    ngnInput.value = rate ? (parseFloat(fxInput.value) / rate).toFixed(2) : '';
  });
}

init();

​
Tips

Cache rates for the session. Forex rates update daily, so one fetch per page load is sufficient. No need to poll on an interval like equity prices. Always show last_updated. The response includes a last_updated date. Display it near your rates so users know how fresh the data is. Cross-pair conversion routes through NGN. All rates are NGN-based, so to convert USD → GBP you divide by the USD rate to get NGN, then multiply by the GBP rate. The convert() function above handles this automatically.

Forex current reference

Full response spec for GET /forex/current

Forex history reference

Historical NGN rates with date range filtering