1,000 euros into dollars on a Sunday morning
What does it cost to turn 1,000 euros into dollars? Between 08:45 and 08:48 UTC on Sunday, November 8, 2026, two providers gave live answers. Wise’s public quote service offered a rate of 1.11405 and a separate fee of 6.21 euros, and its EUR to USD converter page promised customers “the mid-market exchange rate” at 1.114.
On Kraken’s EUR/USD order book the best bid was 1.11348 and the best ask 1.11354. Kraken Pro charges 0.20% on currency pairs at its lowest volume tier, according to its fee page. Selling 1,000 euros used up the 812.8 euros bid at the top of the book and part of the next level, a touch of slippage that set the average rate at 1.113478.
| Route | Rate | Fee | Dollars received |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midpoint of Kraken’s book, used as reference | 1.11351 | none | $1,113.51 |
| Kraken Pro, selling into the bids | 1.113478 average | 0.20%, about $2.23 | about $1,111.25 |
| Wise, paid in by bank transfer | 1.11405 | 6.21 euros | $1,107.13 |
| ECB reference rate of Friday, November 6 | 1.1165 | none, information only | $1,116.50 |
Against the midpoint, the Kraken route cost about $2.26, or 0.20%, nearly all of it the trading fee. The gap between bid and ask was 0.00006, a spread of about 0.005%. Wise cost $6.38, or 0.57%, and its rate was not where the money went, since 1.11405 sat slightly above the midpoint. The 6.21-euro fee carried the whole charge.
The yardstick changes the answer
Measured against the ECB figure, the same two conversions look much worse, at $5.25 (0.47%) for Kraken and $9.37 (0.84%) for Wise. Nothing changed except the reference.
According to the ECB’s reference rate page, the rates come from a concertation around 14:10 CET and are published around 16:00 CET on working days, so on a Sunday the latest one is Friday’s, and by Sunday morning Kraken’s midpoint sat 0.27% below it. The ECB adds that the rates are “published for information purposes only” and that using them for transactions “is strongly discouraged.”
Weekends bring a second cost. Revolut’s EUR to USD converter page says Standard customers pay a 1% fee on exchanges between 17:00 ET on Friday and 18:00 ET on Sunday, Plus customers 0.5%, and Premium, Metal and Ultra customers nothing.
What providers have to show you
Europe uses the ECB rate as its legal yardstick anyway. Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1230 requires card providers to state total currency conversion charges as a percentage mark-up over the latest available ECB euro reference rates, before the payment goes through.
When a bank converts currency on a credit transfer started in its own app or website, Article 5 asks for the estimated total in the payer’s currency, fees included, and the estimated amount the payee receives.
American rules ask for amounts, not a mark-up. A remittance disclosure under 12 CFR 1005.31 carries an “Exchange Rate” line and a “Total to Recipient” line. Where a provider qualifies to estimate the rate, 12 CFR 1005.32 lets it start from the latest wholesale rate plus “any spread” it typically applies. Compare that total, or the dollars received, before choosing a route.