HSBC Sri Lanka Exchange Rate API: LKR Buy and Sell Rates as JSON

HSBC has operated in Sri Lanka since 1892 as a branch of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. Its daily exchange-rates page links PDF board rates with telegraphic-transfer buying and selling rates for 16 currencies, re-issued as numbered circulations when rates change. This guide shows how to read that board as JSON: what the rates mean, how they compare with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka official rate and with other banks in Sri Lanka, and the calls that return them.

What the HSBC Sri Lanka board shows

• 16 currencies against the Sri Lankan rupee: AUD, CAD, CHF, CNY, DKK, EUR, GBP, HKD, INR, JPY, NOK, NZD, SEK, SGD, THB and USD. Every value is LKR per 1 unit of the foreign currency.
• The TT buy / tt-dd sell pair. Sri Lankan banks publish three or four boards for the same currency: currency notes over the counter, demand drafts, telegraphic transfers and import bills. The rates here are the telegraphic-transfer pair, which is what an inbound remittance is actually converted at and the number worth comparing between banks. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s indicative rate sits between the banks’ buying and selling.
• USD on 15 November 2026: HSBC Sri Lanka bought at 326.25 and sold at 338.8 LKR, a spread of 3.77%. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka official rate was 332.5, so the bank's mid sat +0.01% from it.
• The bank's own timestamp. The page prints a last-updated stamp (12-Nov-26 on the board above), returned as bank_updated_at next to our captured_at.
• Every day's board is kept permanently, from 12 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 SEK (3.30%), NOK (3.33%), INR (3.38%) and the widest NZD (4.23%), AUD (4.16%), GBP (4.06%). 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.

USD at HSBC Sri Lanka and other banks in Sri Lanka

USD on the 13 boards AllRatesToday reads in Sri Lanka, all captured on 15 November 2026 (the Central Bank of Sri Lanka official rate was 332.5):

HSBC Sri Lanka had the 13th narrowest USD spread of the 13. One call to /api/v1/bank-rates/lk returns every board in the table at once.

Get the board (REST)

You need an API key; the free key works. The full board:

curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/bank-rates/lk/hsbclk" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer art_live_your_key"

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

{
  "bank": "hsbclk",
  "name": "HSBC Sri Lanka",
  "country": "lk",
  "quote_ccy": "LKR",
  "bank_updated_at": "12-Nov-26",
  "basis": "TT buy / TT-DD sell",
  "captured_at": "2026-11-15T11:22:38.327Z",
  "rates": [
    {"ccy":"AUD","buy":222.82,"sell":232.28,"mid":227.55,"spread_pct":4.157,"official":226.467,"vs_official_pct":0.478},
    {"ccy":"CAD","buy":229.12,"sell":237.44,"mid":233.28,"spread_pct":3.567,"official":233.2037,"vs_official_pct":0.033},
    {"ccy":"CHF","buy":392.45,"sell":406.19,"mid":399.32,"spread_pct":3.441,"official":398.0627,"vs_official_pct":0.316},
    … 13 more currencies
  ],
  "disclaimer": "…",
  "attribution": { … }
}

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

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

{
  "bank": "hsbclk",
  "name": "HSBC Sri Lanka",
  "country": "lk",
  "quote_ccy": "LKR",
  "bank_updated_at": "12-Nov-26",
  "basis": "TT buy / TT-DD sell",
  "captured_at": "2026-11-15T11:22:38.327Z",
  "ccy": "USD",
  "buy": 326.25,
  "sell": 338.8,
  "mid": 332.525,
  "spread_pct": 3.774,
  "official": 332.5018,
  "vs_official_pct": 0.007,
  "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 HSBC Sri Lanka on its own website, collected by AllRatesToday",
    "bank_url": "https://www.business.hsbc.lk/en-gb/regulations/daily-exchange-rates",
    "url": "https://allratestoday.com/bank-exchange-rate-api/lk/hsbclk/",
    "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/lk/hsbclk?date=2026-11-12" \
  -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/lk/hsbclk/history?ccy=USD&from=2026-11-12&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' });

// HSBC Sri Lanka's USD row
const r = await client.bankRates('lk', { bank: 'hsbclk', ccy: 'USD' });
console.log(`HSBC Sri Lanka buys USD at ${r.buy}, sells at ${r.sell} LKR`);

// The board as it stood on a past day
const past = await client.bankRates('lk', { bank: 'hsbclk', date: '2026-11-12' });
console.log(past.snapshot_date, past.rates.length);

Python

import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/bank-rates/lk/hsbclk",
    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 Central Bank of Sri Lanka rate is the one tax, accounting and customs rules in Sri Lanka name; nobody transacts at it. HSBC Sri Lanka'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 Central Bank of Sri Lanka endpoint when a rule asks for the official rate.

FAQ

Where do the HSBC Sri Lanka rates come from?

From the bank's own public rates page (https://www.business.hsbc.lk/en-gb/regulations/daily-exchange-rates), read hourly. AllRatesToday does not change the numbers: each row is the buy and sell price HSBC Sri Lanka shows, with the mid, the spread and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka rate added.

Are these the official LKR exchange rates?

No. They are HSBC Sri Lanka's retail prices for customers. The official rate in Sri Lanka is the Central Bank of Sri Lanka 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 HSBC Sri Lanka 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 HSBC Sri Lanka rates for a past date?

Yes, from 12 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.