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USD to JPY — compare your quote with the mid-market rate

US Dollar → Japanese Yen

USD/JPY is one of the four most-traded currency pairs globally. The mid is exceptionally tight — most of the gap at an airport counter is provider margin, not market spread.

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Recipient gets at the mid-market rate
163,540.00JPY
For 1,000 USD · 1 USD = 163.54 JPY
Enter the rate you were quoted above to see the gap from the mid-market rate.
Spot mid source: fallback · Indicative only

About the USD/JPY pair

This page shows today’s wholesale USD/JPY mid-market rate beside the rate a bank, broker, or kiosk has quoted you. The result is the gap between the two, as a percentage and an amount, in four tiers: under 0.3%, 0.3–1%, 1–3% and over 3% of the amount. The mid-market rate is the rate banks trade at, not a rate you can transact at directly — providers add their margin on top, and that margin is the gap RateCheck shows.

Who sends money on this route

Dollars go to yen for US businesses paying Japanese suppliers of machinery, components and vehicles, for American families funding students in Tokyo and Kyoto, and for the large flow of US tourism to Japan.

US military families stationed in Japan, expatriates paying rent and school fees, and companies settling licensing payments for games and media also convert regularly.

What moves USD/JPY

The Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan set the policy rates. Japan held rates near or below zero for many years, so the pair has been driven heavily by US rates: when US yields rise, the dollar tends to gain against the yen.

US jobs, inflation and Fed decisions matter on one side. On the yen side, each Bank of Japan meeting, national consumer price inflation and the quarterly Tankan business survey matter most. Japan's finance ministry has intervened in the market at times of sharp moves, which is a factor specific to this pair.

The yen is also a traditional safe haven, tending to strengthen during market stress.

How to read a quote

USD/JPY is quoted as yen per dollar, to two or three decimal places. A customer rate below the mid-market rate delivers fewer yen per dollar, and the gap is the provider's margin.

Because the figure is large, a gap of one yen per dollar is a little under one per cent of the amount sent at typical levels. Banks commonly build a few per cent into the rate; specialist providers are often under one per cent.

Common questions

How far is my USD/JPY quote from the mid-market rate?+
Compare the rate you've been quoted with the live mid-market USD/JPY rate — the wholesale rate banks trade at. RateCheck shows the gap as a percentage and an amount, in four tiers: under 0.3%, 0.3–1%, 1–3% and over 3% of the amount.
How much do banks and brokers charge to convert US dollar to Japanese yen?+
Retail bank margins on international transfers are commonly a few per cent; specialist providers are often under one per cent. The margin is built into the exchange rate, usually on top of any fixed transfer fee, and is rarely shown separately. RateCheck shows it as the gap between your quote and the mid-market USD/JPY rate.
Is the mid-market USD/JPY rate the rate I'll actually get?+
No. The mid-market (interbank) rate is the wholesale reference; providers add their margin on top. It's the rate the gap is measured from, not a rate you can transact at directly.
Why does USD/JPY react so much to US interest rates?+
For many years Japanese rates stayed close to zero while US rates moved. The pair therefore priced mostly on the US side, and it still reacts sharply when the outlook for Fed policy shifts.
What is yen intervention?+
Japan's finance ministry can instruct the Bank of Japan to trade yen in the open market to counter what it judges to be excessive moves. It has done so on several occasions. Intervention is a fact of this market, not a signal about direction.
Does a Japanese bank charge to receive dollars?+
Incoming international transfers to Japanese accounts often attract a lifting fee, and dollars arriving unconverted are exchanged at the bank's own rate. Sending yen makes the conversion visible before the money leaves.

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