Bank of Zambia Exchange Rate API: Official ZMW Rates as JSON

The Bank of Zambia publishes the official exchange rates that accounting, tax, and customs rules in Zambia reference — published official rates, not moving market prices. This guide shows how to pull them as JSON: via a REST endpoint or the zero-dependency boz-exchange-rate npm package.

What the Bank of Zambia publishes

• Buying, middle and selling rates for the US dollar and yuan from the Lusaka interbank market.
• Three intraday sessions — we store each day's closing session, the rate that stands as that day's official print.
• The bank's own publication date on every response, so a rate is always citable.
• No gaps to trip over — weekends and Zambian holidays resolve to the most recent published rates and are flagged explicitly.

The kwacha is one of Africa's true floats, moving with copper and capital flows — and the Bank of Zambia interbank print is the official number Zambian banks, miners and the tax authority reference.

Why official rates, not market rates

A live mid-market feed answers "what is USD/ZMW trading at right now?" — the right tool for checkouts and dashboards. But accountants, auditors, and tax authorities ask a different question: "which rate were you required to use for this date?" That answer comes from the Bank of Zambia's published rates, and it never changes after publication.

Get the latest rates (REST)

curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/central-bank/boz/latest" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

The response is the bank's most recent published data — every rate and the publication date. The latest rates are available on every plan, including the free tier (300 requests/month, no credit card).

The npm SDK

npm install boz-exchange-rate

import { getRate, getLatestRates } from 'boz-exchange-rate';

// One pair at the official Bank of Zambia rate
const pair = await getRate('USD', 'ZMW', { apiKey: 'art_live_...' });
console.log(pair.rate, pair.rate_date);

// The bank's full published table
const table = await getLatestRates({ apiKey: 'art_live_...' });
console.log(table.rate_date, table.rates.length);

Zero dependencies, TypeScript types included, and it runs anywhere fetch exists — Node 18+, Bun, Deno, and edge runtimes.

Historical rates for an invoice date

import { getRatesForDate, getHistory } from 'boz-exchange-rate';

// The official rates for an invoice date — non-publication days return
// the most recent published date, flagged via published_on_requested_date.
const day = await getRatesForDate('2026-06-30', { apiKey: 'art_live_...' });

// Time series for one pair
const series = await getHistory(
  { source: 'USD', target: 'ZMW', from: '2026-01-01' },
  { apiKey: 'art_live_...' }
);

Historical dates and time series need a paid plan; the latest rates stay free.

Published vs derived pairs

If the Bank of Zambia does not print a pair directly, the API resolves it from the bank's published rates — an inverse, or a cross rate via ZMW — and flags it derived: true with the method used. Official and computed values are never silently mixed, which is exactly the distinction an auditor will ask about.

The 2026 series

Our archive covers 2026 to date — including the kwacha's strengthening through 19 per dollar — and accumulates every business day forward, stored with its session date.

FAQ

Does the Bank of Zambia have an official exchange rate API?

The Bank of Zambia publishes its official rates on its own site, and AllRatesToday serves the same published rates as clean JSON via REST or the boz-exchange-rate npm package. The latest table is free.

How often do Bank of Zambia rates update?

Three times per business day at the interbank sessions; the API serves the day's final session as the official daily print, with buying, middle and selling rates. Every response carries the date.

Can I get the Bank of Zambia rate for a past date, like an invoice date?

Yes. The /central-bank/boz/rates-for-date endpoint returns the official rates for any archived date. Non-publication days resolve to the most recent published date and are flagged, so your audit trail stays honest. Historical dates require a paid plan; latest rates are free.