Blnk also supports recording transactions between ledger balances of different asset classes using the rate field.

The double entry principle only requires that there’s a corresponding credit entry for every debit entry and vice versa. However, it is up to you if you want to apply exchange rates between balances using rate or not.

Let’s dive in ✨

What we’ll cover …

  1. Applying rates
  2. Key considerations

1. Applying rates

Consider a transaction record sending USD 2,290.19 from a USD balance to a GBP balance.

The first thing is to calculate the exchange rate value against the source, i.e., by how much should you multiply the transaction amount to convert from the source’s currency to the destination’s currency.

In our example, 1 USD = 0.79 GBP. This means "rate": 0.79.

Request
{
  "reference": "ref_1234567890",
  "amount": 2,290.19,
  "currency": "USD",
  "precision": 100,
  "rate": 0.79,
  "source": "bal_usd",
  "destination": "bal_gbp"
}

What happens next

  1. Blnk applies the rate to the transaction amount: 2290.19 * 0.79 = 1803.09
  2. Blnk applies the precision to the converted amount: 1803.09 * 100 = 180309
  3. Blnk records the amount as 180309 in bal_gbp, and 229019 in bal_usd and computes their balances.

2. Key considerations

  1. Only send money between balances whose different asset classes have the same precision value, i.e., USD to GBP work well because the precision value for their lowest unit possible is 100. However, NGN to BTC is not advisable.

  2. Always specify your precision value in your transaction payload to ensure consistency in how your balance is computed.

Need help?

We are very happy to help you make the most of Blnk, regardless of whether it is your first time or you are switching from another tool.

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