---
title: "RBNZ Exchange Rate API: Official NZD Rates as JSON"
description: "Official Reserve Bank of New Zealand daily exchange rates as JSON — 18 currencies against the NZD (plus the TWI on the bank's site), history back to 1999. REST + npm SDK, free tier included."
canonical: https://allratestoday.com/blog/rbnz-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: 2026-10-16T12:32:04.048Z
---

**Reserve Bank of New Zealand** publishes official exchange rates — 18 currencies against the NZD (plus the TWI on the bank's site) — and these are the *published official rates* used for tax filings, audits, and compliant invoicing in New Zealand, not moving market prices. This guide shows how to pull them as JSON: via a REST endpoint or the zero-dependency [`rbnz-exchange-rate`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/rbnz-exchange-rate) npm package, with history back to 1999.

  NZD → USD — official Reserve Bank of New Zealand wholesale rate Weekly observations, Aug '25 – Aug '26 · USD per 1 NZD

*Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand published rates · chart data from the AllRatesToday API (`/api/v1/central-bank/rbnz/history?source=NZD&target=USD`).*

## What the RBNZ publishes

- **18 currencies against the NZD (plus the TWI on the bank's site)**.
- **History back to 1999** — queryable by exact date or as a time series.
- **The bank's own publication date** on every response, so a rate is always citable.
- **No gaps to trip over** — requests for non-publication days resolve to the most recent published rates and are flagged explicitly.

Rates are the wholesale market rates observed at around 3pm New Zealand time each business day — the B1 statistical series.

## Why official rates, not market rates

A live mid-market feed answers "what is NZD/USD 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 central bank's published rates, and it never changes after publication.

## Get the latest rates (REST)

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

The response is the bank’s most recent published table — one row per pair in its own quoting direction, the publication date (`rate_date`) and a freshness flag. Live example captured 2026-10-06:

```
{
  "bank": "rbnz",
  "name": "Reserve Bank of New Zealand",
  "rate_date": "2026-10-06",
  "age_days": 4,
  "stale": false,
  "cadence": "daily",
  "rates": [
    {"base": "NZD", "quote": "AUD", "type": "reference", "value": 0.8036},
    {"base": "NZD", "quote": "CAD", "type": "reference", "value": 0.7989},
    {"base": "NZD", "quote": "CNY", "type": "reference", "value": 3.7557},
    {"base": "NZD", "quote": "EUR", "type": "reference", "value": 0.499},
    … 13 more rows
  ],
  "disclaimer": "Official rates as published by the named central bank. On weekends/holidays the most recent published rate_date is returned."
}
```

Most integrations need one pair. Add `source` and `target` and the API returns a single resolved rate — `derived: false` when Reserve Bank of New Zealand printed the pair itself:

```
curl "https://allratestoday.com/api/v1/central-bank/rbnz/latest?source=NZD&target=USD" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
```

```
{
  "bank": "rbnz",
  "name": "Reserve Bank of New Zealand",
  "rate_date": "2026-10-06",
  "source": "NZD",
  "target": "USD",
  "rate": 0.5601,
  "rate_type": "reference",
  "derived": false,
  "method": "published",
  "age_days": 4,
  "stale": false,
  "cadence": "daily",
  "disclaimer": "Official rates as published by the named central bank. On weekends/holidays the most recent published rate_date is returned."
}
```

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 free requests, no credit card).

## The npm SDK

```
npm install rbnz-exchange-rate
```

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

// One pair at the official Reserve Bank of New Zealand rate
const pair = await getRate('NZD', 'USD', { 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 'rbnz-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: 'NZD', target: 'USD', from: '2026-01-01' },
  { apiKey: 'art_live_...' }
);
```

Historical dates and time series need a [paid plan](https://allratestoday.com/pricing/); the latest rates stay free.

## Published vs derived pairs

If the RBNZ does not print a pair directly, the API resolves it from the bank's published rates — an inverse, or a cross rate via NZD — 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.

## FAQ

### Does Reserve Bank of New Zealand have an official exchange rate API?

Reserve Bank of New Zealand publishes its official rates on its website, but not always in a developer-friendly form. AllRatesToday serves the bank's published rates as clean JSON — 18 currencies against the NZD (plus the TWI on the bank's site), with history back to 1999 — via REST or the rbnz-exchange-rate npm package. The latest table is free.

### How often do Reserve Bank of New Zealand rates update?

Once per business day. These are published reference rates, not moving market prices — the table changes when the bank publishes a new one, and every API response carries the bank's own publication date so you can cite it.

### Can I get the Reserve Bank of New Zealand rate for a past date, like an invoice date?

Yes. The /central-bank/rbnz/rates-for-date endpoint returns the official rates for any date back to 1999. 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.

## Official Reserve Bank of New Zealand rates, as JSON

The latest rates are free — 300 free requests, no credit card.

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

## Related Articles

- [Reserve Bank of New Zealand rates API — product page](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/rbnz/)
- [All covered central banks](https://allratestoday.com/central-bank-rates-api/)
- [Swiss National Bank exchange rate API guide](https://allratestoday.com/blog/snb-exchange-rate-api/)
- [Bank of Japan exchange rate API guide](https://allratestoday.com/blog/boj-exchange-rate-api/)
- [Central bank API documentation](https://allratestoday.com/docs/#central-bank)
- [Best exchange rate APIs in 2026 — how the official-rate and market-rate providers compare](https://allratestoday.com/best/best-exchange-rate-api/)