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Automatically Import Exchange Rates from the ECB – Directly into PORTOLAN

 

Management Summary

Many companies still maintain exchange rates manually or rely on ad hoc processes outside their financial system. This takes time, ties up resources, and increases the risk of errors.

With the ECB exchange rate import feature for PORTOLAN, the official reference rates from the European Central Bank (ECB) can be automatically imported into your system. After a one-time setup, up-to-date exchange rates are available daily—reliably, transparently, and without manual effort.

Your Benefits at a Glance

  • Up-to-date exchange rates without manual maintenance
  • Automatic import of official ECB reference rates
  • Reduction of sources of error and data inconsistencies
  • Time savings for financial accounting and IT
  • Consistent exchange rate basis for all users
  • Integration into existing IBM i automation processes
  • Expandable exchange rate provision via additional rate providers
  • Customizable for individual requirements and third-party systems
  • Quick implementation with minimal setup effort

In short:

Set it up once. Get up-to-date exchange rates every day. Fully automated.

PORTOLAN imports the official ECB reference rates directly into your financial accounting system and ensures a centralized, consistent, and audit-compliant exchange rate feed.

Less maintenance effort. Greater security. Always up-to-date rates.

Anyone who regularly works with foreign currencies knows the challenge: Exchange rates must be kept up to date. If rates are maintained manually, it takes time, leads to follow-up questions, and carries the risk of data entry errors.

With the ECB Rate Import for PORTOLAN, the reference rates published by the European Central Bank can be imported directly into the system. Simple, reliable, and fully automated if desired.

This ensures that your financial accounting department has access to up-to-date exchange rates every day, without anyone having to remember to update them.

The European Central Bank provides the data free of charge

The European Central Bank publishes its official reference rates every banking business day and makes them available free of charge via a web service. PORTOLAN uses this service directly and automatically imports the data into its exchange rate management system.

The following currencies, among others, are currently supported:

USD – U.S. Dollar

GBP – British Pound

CHF – Swiss Franc

CAD – Canadian Dollar

AUD – Australian Dollar

JPY – Japanese Yen

CNY – Chinese Yuan

SEK – Swedish Krona

NOK – Norwegian Krone

DKK – Danish Krone

PLN – Polish Złoty

CZK – Czech Koruna

HUF – Hungarian Forint

RON – Romanian Leu

TRY – Turkish Lira

SGD – Singapore Dollar

HKD – Hong Kong Dollar

BRL – Brazilian Real

MXN – Mexican Peso

as well as numerous other international currencies.

In total, the ECB currently provides reference rates for just under 30 currencies. PORTOLAN processes only those foreign currencies that are actually used in the respective system.

Additional Currencies via exchangeratesapi.io

Not every currency used worldwide is provided by the European Central Bank. For this reason, PORTOLAN can access the exchangeratesapi.io platform as needed.

This service provides exchange rates for a significantly larger number of international currencies and can be used specifically to supplement the ECB’s data when individual rates are not available through the ECB.

Of particular interest to many companies: exchangeratesapi.io also offers free usage options depending on the volume of queries. This often allows additional currencies to be provided without incurring additional licensing costs.

The combination of official ECB reference rates and supplementary rates via exchangeratesapi.io enables a particularly flexible and future-proof exchange rate solution for companies operating internationally.

Your Benefits

  • Official ECB rates for standard currencies
  • Additional currencies via exchangeratesapi.io
  • Unified import process within PORTOLAN
  • Flexible solution for international corporate groups
  • Future-proof expansion options

Two Ways to Achieve Your Goal

Manual Retrieval at the Click of a Button

For companies that want to actively manage their exchange rate imports, the current ECB rates can be retrieved directly from PORTOLAN at any time.

The available exchange rates are displayed transparently before they are imported and can be reviewed. Only then are they saved with the ECB’s official publication date.

This option is particularly suitable for companies that want to actively manage their exchange rates.

Fully Automated Exchange Rate Provision

The automated option is even more convenient.

After a one-time setup, PORTOLAN automatically retrieves the exchange rates via a scheduled background job on your IBM i server. The current ECB rates are automatically imported and made available to your users without any further action required.

For you, this means:

  • No daily maintenance of exchange rates
  • No missed updates
  • Consistent rates for all postings
  • Greater process reliability
  • Less effort for business units and IT
  • Fully integrated into existing workflows

In practice, many of our customers configure the import so that rates are automatically retrieved every business day. Since the ECB typically publishes its reference rates in the afternoon, the current values are automatically available for further processing.

Once set up, the entire process runs reliably in the background.

More Than Just an Exchange Rate Import

The ECB exchange rate import can do much more than just save exchange rates in PORTOLAN.

Thanks to its extensibility, the imported exchange rates can also be passed on to other enterprise applications or customer-specific databases as needed.

This creates a central source of up-to-date exchange rates across multiple systems. Duplicate data maintenance, manual interfaces, and inconsistent exchange rates are now a thing of the past.

In particular, companies with ERP, reporting, or consolidation systems benefit from a unified exchange rate basis across their entire system landscape.

Technical Note for IBM i Customers

Modern security and encryption methods are used for communication with the ECB web service.

For IBM i systems still running older versions of Java 8, this may lead to connection issues. In these cases, the cause is generally not PORTOLAN itself, but rather an outdated Java environment on the server.

Our recommendation for IBM i 7.5:

  • Install the latest Java Group SF99955 Level 21
  • Alternatively, install at least the relevant security fix SJ09202

This ensures support for current security standards and enables communication with modern web services.

In addition, companies benefit from further Java fixes as well as a consistent Java version for Java 8, 11, 17, and 21.

Of course, we’re happy to assist you with the technical review and setup.

Conclusion: Small Feature, Big Benefit

The automatic ECB exchange rate import is one of those features that requires little attention once set up, yet its benefits are felt every day.

Up-to-date exchange rates are reliably available. Manual steps are eliminated. Sources of error are reduced. At the same time, the quality and consistency of financial data across the entire company improve.

With the additional support from exchangeratesapi.io, currencies not included in the European Central Bank’s standard offering can also be integrated as needed. This makes the solution suitable not only for traditional European requirements but also for internationally operating corporate groups with more extensive needs regarding their exchange rate data.

For internationally active companies in particular, the automatic retrieval of current exchange rates offers a simple way to streamline processes, reduce risks, and sustainably improve data quality.

Interested in setting this up?

We’d be happy to assist you with:

  • setting up the ECB exchange rate import
  • automation on your IBM i server
  • verifying technical requirements
  • custom extensions and integrations
  • connecting additional systems and processes
  • integrating additional exchange rate sources

Contact us. Together, we’ll set up automated exchange rate import in your PORTOLAN system.

Less maintenance. More automation. Up-to-date exchange rates directly from the European Central Bank—and beyond, if needed.