Read and calculate currency exchange rates with your paid currencylayer account. For business teams with a paid currencylayer account, using rates for their internal operations. Hosted by usefulapi — connect from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP client.
Team and Enterprise: an Owner adds the connector for the organization first.
Run this command, then run /mcp in Claude Code to log in:
Add to Cursor or add this to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"currencylayer": {
"url": "https://currencylayer.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}Add to VS Code or add this to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"currencylayer": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://currencylayer.usefulapi.io/mcp"
}
}
}No Add custom MCP server option? It depends on your account or workspace settings: see OpenAI's guide.
Run these commands. The second one opens the login page:
Other MCP clients (Windsurf, Cline, Zed and more): add the URL as a remote MCP server (Streamable HTTP). The client then opens the login page in your browser. Do not add an Authorization header: see Before you connect.
Read the latest rates for selected currency pairs. Every request spends vendor quota and may incur plan overage charges.
Changes data · currencylayer_get_live_rates
Read exchange rates on a selected date using the features available on your vendor plan.
Changes data · currencylayer_get_historical_rates
Calculate a currency conversion. This spends API quota and does not trade or transfer money.
Changes data · currencylayer_convert_currency
The login page asks for your currencylayer access key.
Use a paid currencylayer plan that permits commercial use and authorize this connection only for your own internal business operations. Copy the access key from your currencylayer dashboard. By connecting, you appoint usefulapi as your outsourcing provider under the currencylayer connection terms; your vendor subscription and API limits still apply. Every call, including login, spends API quota and may cause vendor overage charges. Requested currency pairs, amounts, dates and rate results pass to your chosen AI client and its LLM provider. These five tools read or calculate rates; they do not trade or transfer money. API requests use HTTPS only and are never retried. Reset the key in currencylayer to stop access; a reset starts a new usage/billing identity.
Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your currencylayer access key. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
Turn on the currencylayer connector, then ask in plain words. The AI picks the tools.
| Tool | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
currencylayer_get_live_rates | write | Get live exchange rates SPENDS 1 request of your currencylayer monthly quota per call (also when it fails after authentication; it is never retried). Real-time exchange rates for up to 174 world currencies and precious metals relative to a source currency (default USD). Quotes are keyed by pair, e.g. USDEUR = 0.918 means 1 USD = 0.918 EUR. The free plan refreshes daily, higher plans hourly down to every 60 seconds. Use 'currencies' to limit the reply. GET /live. |
currencylayer_get_historical_rates | write | Get historical exchange rates SPENDS 1 request of your currencylayer monthly quota per call (also when it fails after authentication; it is never retried). Exchange rates for one past date (data back to 1999 for most currencies; a currency added later has no data before its start date and the whole request then fails). Quotes are keyed by pair, e.g. USDEUR. Use 'currencies' to limit the reply. GET /historical. |
currencylayer_convert_currency | write | Convert an amount SPENDS 1 request of your currencylayer monthly quota per call (also when it fails after authentication; it is never retried). Convert an amount from one currency to another with real-time rates, or with the rates of a past date. Returns the result and the quote used. Needs the Basic plan or higher. GET /convert. |
currencylayer_get_timeframe_rates | write | Get exchange rates for a date range SPENDS 1 request of your currencylayer monthly quota per call (also when it fails after authentication; it is never retried). Daily exchange rates for every date from start_date to end_date (at most 365 days apart), one entry per date. Needs the Enterprise plan or higher. The reply must stay small: days x currencies may not exceed 2000 (without 'currencies' that is 174 per day), checked before the request is sent. GET /timeframe. |
currencylayer_get_rate_changes | write | Get exchange rate changes SPENDS 1 request of your currencylayer monthly quota per call (also when it fails after authentication; it is never retried). How exchange rates changed between two dates: per currency pair the start_rate, end_rate, absolute change and change_pct. Pass both dates or none (none = yesterday's end-of-day rate against the latest rate). Forex markets are closed on weekends, so a weekend change can be zero. Needs the Enterprise+ plan or higher. GET /change. |
currencylayer_usage_status | Usage status (free-tier meter) Report the caller's current usage: the plan, calls used this month, the limit of the plan (the free monthly cap or the Pro fair use limit), remaining, and whether the limit is reached. Read-only; does not count against the meter. | |
currencylayer_request_feature | Request a missing feature Tell usefulapi that the user needs something the currencylayer tools cannot do yet (a missing tool, field or filter). Call it only when the user asks for something none of the tools can do, and tell the user that you send the request. Do not call it for errors or for normal requests. Do not include personal data, credentials or customer records. Stored with the product name and the client type (for example Claude or Cursor), without the user's account. At most 5 requests per day. Does not count against the meter. | |
currencylayer_upgrade | Upgrade to Pro (unlimited*) Get Pro: unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 a month) on currencylayer (the free tier caps monthly usage). Plans: "monthly" — $9/month; "yearly" — $90/year (2 months free). Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period, so it also suits a one-time job. *A fair use limit applies. For heavy use (near Pro's limit): "plus" or "plus_yearly" — Pro+, $39/month or $390/year, unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 100,000 a month); an existing Pro subscription changes to Pro+ in place (needs confirm: true; the price difference for the rest of the period is charged at once). Otherwise returns a short link to open in your browser (it opens Stripe Checkout); after payment the account upgrades automatically. Does not count against the meter. | |
currencylayer_cancel_subscription | Cancel the Pro subscription Cancel the caller's currencylayer Pro subscription at the end of the paid period (no refund for the current period; Pro continues until then, then the free tier applies). Requires confirm: true. Run currencylayer_upgrade later to undo the cancel before the period ends. Does not count against the meter. |
| Plan | Price | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 50 tool calls / month |
| Proper currencylayer access key | $9/mo · $90/yr | Unlimited* |
*Pro fair use limit: 10,000 tool calls a month on this server. For more, write to [email protected].
Pro covers this currencylayer server only. Subscribe with currencylayer_upgrade (it returns a Stripe Checkout link). Cancel any time with currencylayer_cancel_subscription: Pro continues to the end of the paid period, with no refund for the current period, and running currencylayer_upgrade before then undoes the cancel. Or write to [email protected].
Look up current exchange rates. Review a historical rate. Convert an amount. See what you can do for the details.
No. usefulapi is an independent service. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by currencylayer. The server calls the currencylayer API with your own currencylayer access, so it sees only the data that your account can see.
Yes. In Claude, add this server's URL as a custom connector. In ChatGPT, add it as a custom MCP server in Plugins. Then log in once. Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code and Codex work too. See the setup steps.
The login page asks for your currencylayer access key. See Before you connect for where to find it.
No. Add only the URL. Do not add an Authorization header or an API key to the client config. The server signs you in with OAuth: the login page asks for your currencylayer access key. If the config has such a header, remove it: some clients then send that header instead of the login token, and every call fails with 401.
The login stores them encrypted in the authorization grant of your connection. The server uses them to call the currencylayer API for you and to derive a private account id for usage metering. usefulapi does not show them on any page or in any reply. To stop all access, remove the connector and change or delete these credentials in currencylayer.
Yes, if you approve it. 5 of the 5 currencylayer tools can create or change data. The other 0 are marked read-only. Most MCP clients ask you to approve a tool call before it runs.
The Free plan gives 50 tool calls / month. Pro costs $9/mo or $90/yr, with unlimited tool calls (fair use limit: 10,000 tool calls a month), for this currencylayer server only. Cancel any time: Pro then runs to the end of the paid period. Run currencylayer_usage_status to see how many calls you used.
Ask the AI to run currencylayer_upgrade: it returns a Stripe Checkout link. To cancel, run currencylayer_cancel_subscription. Pro continues to the end of the paid period.
Tell the AI what you wanted to do. It can send the request with currencylayer_request_feature. We store the text with the server name, the type of AI client and the tool you tried, not with your account, and read every request when we plan new tools. You can send up to 5 requests per day.
Any client that supports remote MCP servers (Streamable HTTP) with OAuth login: Claude (web and desktop), Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and others.
This is a Model Context Protocol endpoint — meant to be connected from an AI client, not opened in a browser. An invalid_token response at the URL is the auth gate working as designed; clients authenticate automatically.
Need a tool this server does not have, or a connection to another system? We build custom integrations and MCP servers.