What is Pricing?
When you exchange one currency or asset for another (like converting USD to USDT), the price you pay isn’t always the same as the market rate. Pricing refers to how the exchange rate is calculated and what fees or margins are applied to your transaction.
The quote response includes a pricing object that returns all the values applied to the quote, including exchange rates, spreads, and revenue calculations for both the client and customer levels. This provides complete transparency into how pricing is calculated.
Exchange Rates and Spreads
Exchange Rate
The exchange rate determines how much of one currency you’ll receive for another. For example, a rate of 1.00 means exchanging 100 USD gives you 100 units worth of the target currency.
Spread
A spread is the difference between the rate you pay and the market rate, expressed as a percentage or in basis points (bps).
Basis Points:
- 1 basis point (bp) = 0.01%
- 100 basis points = 1%
- 50 basis points = 0.5%
Example: A 50 bps spread on a $1,000 transaction:
- Spread = 0.5% of $1,000 = $5
- Customer receives: $995 (or equivalent in target currency)
- Your revenue: $5
Pricing Structure
The quote response includes a pricing object with two main sections: client and customer.
Client Pricing
The client section provides pricing information at the client level:
| Field | Description |
|---|
effectiveRate | The exchange rate applied to the client for this transaction |
spreadBps | The spread (in basis points) applied to the transaction |
pricingModel | The pricing model used (e.g., take_rate) |
calculatedAmount | The calculated amount based on the client’s pricing |
Customer Pricing
The customer section provides pricing information specific to the customer:
| Field | Description |
|---|
effectiveRate | The exchange rate applied to the customer for this transaction |
spreadBps | The spread (in basis points) applied to the customer. This can be specified when creating the quote |
pricingModel | The pricing model used for the customer (e.g., spread_on_rate) |
calculatedAmount | The calculated amount based on the customer’s pricing |
calculatedRevenue | The revenue obtained from this transaction for the customer (in USDC) |
Understanding Revenue
The calculatedRevenue field in the customer pricing shows the revenue generated from the transaction in USDC. This is calculated based on the difference between the client pricing and the customer pricing, allowing you to track your margin on each transaction.
Example: For a source-based quote with a 50 bps spread on $1,000 USD:
- Customer sends: $1,000 USD
- Customer receives: $995 USDT
- Revenue: $5 USD worth (converted to USDC for reporting)
Pricing Models
Conduit supports two pricing models:
Take Rate (take_rate)
Used at the client level. Conduit takes a percentage of the transaction as a fee. This is your cost of using the platform.
Spread on Rate (spread_on_rate)
Used at the customer level. You add a spread (margin) on top of the exchange rate. This is how you make money.
Setting Spread for a Quote
When creating a quote, you can optionally specify a custom spread for that specific quote. This allows you to apply different pricing strategies for individual quotes based on your business needs.
To set a spread for a quote, include the pricing override information in your quote request. You can specify:
- Pricing model: Set the pricing model to
spread_on_rate
- Spread amount: Set the spread in basis points (where 1 basis point equals 0.01%)
The spread you specify will be applied to the quote and will be reflected in the customer pricing section of the quote response, showing both the effective rate and the calculated revenue for that transaction.
Spread overrides are optional and apply only to the specific quote being created. If you don’t specify a custom
spread, only the client-level pricing will be applied to the quote.
What’s next?
Now that you understand how pricing works in quotes, learn how to create quotes with custom pricing overrides: Creating Quotes with Pricing.
For full request and response details, see the API Reference.
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