---
title: "Access Bank Rwanda Exchange Rate API: RWF Buy and Sell Rates as JSON"
description: "Access Bank Rwanda's transfers (we buy / we sell) rates for 11 currencies against the Rwandan franc, read hourly from the bank's own page and served as JSON with the National Bank of Rwanda official rate alongside. REST, JavaScript and Python examples."
canonical: https://allratestoday.com/blog/access-bank-rwanda-exchange-rate-api/
source: AllRatesToday (https://allratestoday.com/) — Markdown mirror of the page above; index of all pages at https://allratestoday.com/llms.txt
generated: 2026-11-15T19:05:21.822Z
---

Access Bank Rwanda is the Rwandan subsidiary of Nigeria’s Access Bank. Its daily FX page lists transfer and bank-note buy and sell rates in francs for about a dozen currencies. This guide shows how to read that board as JSON: what the rates mean, how they compare with the National Bank of Rwanda official rate, and the calls that return them.

## What the Access Rwanda board shows

- **11 currencies against the Rwandan franc**: CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, JPY, KES, TZS, UGX, USD, XDR and ZAR. Every value is RWF per 1 unit of the foreign currency.
- **The transfers (we buy / we sell) pair.** Rwandan banks quote the franc against the US dollar within a few francs of the National Bank of Rwanda reference rate; spreads widen on regional currencies such as the Kenyan and Ugandan shillings. The National Bank of Rwanda official rate is shown next to each row.
- **USD on 15 November 2026**: Access Rwanda bought at 1474.5 and sold at 1484.5 RWF, a spread of 0.68%. The National Bank of Rwanda official rate was 1482.22, so the bank's mid sat -0.18% from it.
- **The bank's own timestamp.** The page prints a last-updated stamp (`2026-11-13` on the board above), returned as `bank_updated_at` next to our `captured_at`.
- **Every day's board is kept permanently, from 13 November 2026.** Read one past day with `?date=`, or a range for one currency with the `/history` endpoint (paid plans).

## Spreads across the board

On the 15 November 2026 board the tightest spreads were USD (0.68%), GBP (1.02%), CHF (1.12%) and the widest UGX (68.49%), TZS (65.63%), JPY (28.22%). Spread is (sell − buy) ÷ mid: what a round trip through the bank costs, before any fees. The API returns it on every row as `spread_pct`, so you can rank currencies or alert when a bank widens its board.

## Get the board (REST)

You need an API key; the [free key](https://allratestoday.com/register/) works. The full board:

```
curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/bank-rates/rw/accessrw" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer art_live_your_key"
```

What comes back (the 15 November 2026 board, first three rows):

```
{
  "bank": "accessrw",
  "name": "Access Bank Rwanda",
  "country": "rw",
  "quote_ccy": "RWF",
  "bank_updated_at": "2026-11-13",
  "basis": "Transfers (we buy / we sell)",
  "captured_at": "2026-11-15T11:53:43.475Z",
  "rates": [
    {"ccy":"CAD","buy":1039.32,"sell":1059.32,"mid":1049.32,"spread_pct":1.906,"official":1039.315618,"vs_official_pct":0.963},
    {"ccy":"CHF","buy":1774.05,"sell":1794.05,"mid":1784.05,"spread_pct":1.121,"official":1774.051331,"vs_official_pct":0.564},
    {"ccy":"EUR","buy":1637,"sell":1657,"mid":1647,"spread_pct":1.214,"official":1639.187098,"vs_official_pct":0.477},
    … 8 more currencies
  ],
  "disclaimer": "…",
  "attribution": { … }
}
```

One currency, with the row fields at the top level:

```
curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/bank-rates/rw/accessrw?ccy=USD" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer art_live_your_key"
```

```
{
  "bank": "accessrw",
  "name": "Access Bank Rwanda",
  "country": "rw",
  "quote_ccy": "RWF",
  "bank_updated_at": "2026-11-13",
  "basis": "Transfers (we buy / we sell)",
  "captured_at": "2026-11-15T11:53:43.475Z",
  "ccy": "USD",
  "buy": 1474.5,
  "sell": 1484.5,
  "mid": 1479.5,
  "spread_pct": 0.676,
  "official": 1482.22,
  "vs_official_pct": -0.184,
  "disclaimer": "Retail buy/sell rates as displayed on each bank’s own website at capture time, quoted as home currency per 1 unit of foreign currency. Indicative only: banks change these through the day, apply them at the counter or in-app, and they are not official or reference rates. For the rate a regulation names, use the central-bank endpoints.",
  "attribution": {
    "source": "Board rates published by Access Bank Rwanda on its own website, collected by AllRatesToday",
    "bank_url": "https://rwanda.accessbankplc.com/business/fx-rates",
    "url": "https://allratestoday.com/bank-exchange-rate-api/rw/accessrw/",
    "terms": "Public pages that show the rates need a visible link to allratestoday.com"
  }
}
```

The board as it stood on a past day:

```
curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/bank-rates/rw/accessrw?date=2026-11-13" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer art_live_your_key"
```

One currency over a date range, one row per day (paid plans; add `&format=csv`, `xml` or `xlsx` for a file):

```
curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/bank-rates/rw/accessrw/history?ccy=USD&from=2026-11-13&to=2026-11-15" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer art_live_your_key"
```

## JavaScript

```
npm install @allratestoday/sdk
```

```
import { AllRatesToday } from '@allratestoday/sdk';

const client = new AllRatesToday({ apiKey: 'art_live_your_key' });

// Access Bank Rwanda's USD row
const r = await client.bankRates('rw', { bank: 'accessrw', ccy: 'USD' });
console.log(`Access Rwanda buys USD at ${r.buy}, sells at ${r.sell} RWF`);

// The board as it stood on a past day
const past = await client.bankRates('rw', { bank: 'accessrw', date: '2026-11-13' });
console.log(past.snapshot_date, past.rates.length);
```

## Python

```
import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/bank-rates/rw/accessrw",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer art_live_your_key"},
    timeout=10,
)
r.raise_for_status()
for row in r.json()["rates"]:
    print(row["ccy"], row["buy"], row["sell"], row["spread_pct"])
```

## Board rate or official rate?

The National Bank of Rwanda rate is the one tax, accounting and customs rules in Rwanda name; nobody transacts at it. Access Rwanda's board is the price a customer actually gets. The API puts both on every row: `official` is the central bank's rate for the same currency and `vs_official_pct` is how far the bank's mid sits from it. Use the board to show customers a real price, compare banks for a remittance, or keep a dated record of what the bank quoted; use the [National Bank of Rwanda endpoint](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/bnrw/) when a rule asks for the official rate.

## FAQ

### Where do the Access Bank Rwanda rates come from?

From the bank's own public rates page (https://rwanda.accessbankplc.com/business/fx-rates), read hourly. AllRatesToday does not change the numbers: each row is the buy and sell price Access Rwanda shows, with the mid, the spread and the National Bank of Rwanda rate added.

### Are these the official RWF exchange rates?

No. They are Access Rwanda's retail prices for customers. The official rate in Rwanda is the National Bank of Rwanda rate, which the API returns as `official` on each row where the central bank has one, and in full from the central-bank endpoint.

### How often is the Access Rwanda board updated?

AllRatesToday reads the page every hour. The bank's own last-updated stamp is returned as `bank_updated_at`, so you can tell a fresh read of an unchanged board from a new board.

### Can I get Access Rwanda rates for a past date?

Yes, from 13 November 2026 onward; every day's board is kept permanently. Add `?date=YYYY-MM-DD` for one day: the response is the board captured that day, or the nearest earlier day within five days, with `date_requested` and `snapshot_date` added. For a range, `/history?ccy=USD&from=…&to=…` returns one row per day as JSON, CSV, XML or XLSX on paid plans.

### Do I need an API key?

Yes. Commercial bank boards need an API key; any plan works, the free key included, and each call counts against the plan. Public pages or widgets that show the rates need a visible link to allratestoday.com.

## Access Bank Rwanda rates, as JSON

Free API key, hourly board captures, the official rate alongside.

 [Get your free API key](https://allratestoday.com/register/)

## Related

- [Access Bank Rwanda live board rates](https://allratestoday.com/bank-exchange-rate-api/rw/accessrw/)
- [All banks in Rwanda side by side](https://allratestoday.com/bank-exchange-rate-api/rw/)
- [National Bank of Rwanda official rates API](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/bnrw/)
- [Every bank exchange rate API guide, by country](https://allratestoday.com/blog/bank-exchange-rate-api-guides/)
- [Commercial bank rates API: every bank and country](https://allratestoday.com/bank-exchange-rate-api/)