Methodology

The UN sets operational exchange rates (UNORE) for converting aid funding to local currency. All humanitarian funds — staff salaries, local procurement, office costs, partner sub-grants — must be converted at these rates. When UNORE lags behind market rates, the same dollar buys less local currency, reducing the purchasing power of the entire operation.

We compare UNORE against USDC peer-to-peer rates — the closest proxy for what people actually pay to exchange dollars in-country. The difference is expressed as a cents-per-dollar gap: how many cents of purchasing power are affected for every dollar converted.

For example, a 5.4¢ per dollar gap means that for every $1 million converted, the operation receives the equivalent of $54,000 less in local currency purchasing power.

Rates flow through the following automated pipeline:

1. 1
   UNORE Scraper — Monthly. Parses the UN Treasury HTML table for operational rates across all target currencies.
2. 2
   Spot FX Fetcher — Hourly. Pulls mid-market rates from ExchangeRate-API with Frankfurter (ECB) as fallback.
3. 3
   Stablecoin P2P Fetcher — Every 6 hours. Queries Binance P2P for USDT and USDC buy/sell ads per currency, with Bybit P2P as fallback for currencies where Binance has no listings (e.g. NGN, MMK). Calculates median and average from top 10 ads.
4. 4
   Rate Difference Calculator — Daily. Computes all rate difference metrics, staleness, and the headline UNORE vs USDC purchasing power gap for each country.

All rate differences are calculated as percentage differences using the formula:

The result is then expressed as cents per dollar for clarity: a 5.4% difference = 5.4¢ per dollar gap.

UNORE rates are typically updated monthly. Staleness measures how many days have elapsed since the last effective date. In volatile markets, even a few weeks of staleness can result in significant rate divergence.

• 1. USDT ≠ USD. Tether is a stablecoin pegged to USD but trades at a slight premium/discount. We treat 1 USDT = 1 USD for simplicity, but the actual USDT/USD rate typically fluctuates ±0.5%. The same applies to USDC, though it is generally closer to par.
• 2. P2P rates are indicative. P2P exchange ads represent asking prices, not necessarily completed transaction rates. Actual transaction rates may differ due to negotiation, volume, and payment method.
• 3. Missing data is informative. When a currency is absent from FX APIs or P2P platforms, it tells you something about market fragmentation. We track data availability as a metric in its own right. South Sudan (SSP) currently lacks any P2P or parallel market online source.
• 4. Not financial advice. Rates shown are for transparency and research purposes. They should not be used for financial transactions or treasury operations without independent verification.
• 5. Regional variation. Exchange rates in crisis countries vary significantly by location (e.g., Aden vs Sanaa in Yemen, government vs opposition-held areas in Syria). A single national rate may obscure important local dynamics.
• 6. The gap is not a judgement. UNORE exists for valid operational reasons — predictability, compliance, audit trail. This tracker measures the purchasing power gap as a factual observation, not an assessment of UN treasury policy.
• 7. Scraper fragility. The UNORE scraper relies on the UN Treasury website layout remaining stable. If the site redesigns, the scraper may stop returning data until updated. Pipeline run status is tracked and missing data triggers alerts.
• 8. Thin P2P liquidity. USDC P2P markets are thin for many currencies — sometimes only a handful of sell-side ads exist, or the buy/sell spread exceeds 25%. In these cases the mid-rate is suppressed to avoid misleading spreads. USDT generally has deeper liquidity and is used as fallback where USDC data is insufficient.

We track 33 crisis-affected and humanitarian-recipient countries across 28 currencies, aligned with the MarketImpact Humanitarian Funding Dashboard.

UNORE

UN Operational Rate of Exchange. The exchange rate set monthly by the UN Treasury and used by all UN agencies when converting USD to local currency for operations.

USDC

USD Coin. A regulated stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, issued by Circle. Its peer-to-peer trading price in local currency serves as a proxy for the real in-country exchange rate.

USDT

Tether. The most widely traded stablecoin. Often the most liquid USD-equivalent asset in restricted or de-risked markets.

Spot rate

The international mid-market exchange rate as quoted by banks and FX data providers. In de-risked countries, this may not reflect actual in-country exchange conditions.

Purchasing power gap

The difference in local currency received when converting at the UNORE rate versus the market rate (USDC P2P). Expressed as cents per dollar: e.g. a 5.4¢ gap means every dollar converted buys 5.4% less local currency than the market rate would provide.

Basis points (bps)

A standard unit in finance equal to 1/100th of a percentage point. 100 bps = 1%. Used by FX professionals; shown as secondary detail in the tracker.

De-risked market

A country where international banks have withdrawn correspondent banking services (often due to sanctions or compliance risk). SWIFT transfers are restricted, making the international spot FX rate unreliable as a reference.

P2P (peer-to-peer)

A decentralized exchange model where buyers and sellers trade directly. P2P crypto platforms like Binance connect individuals, and the resulting prices reflect real supply/demand for USD in local markets.