Product Decisions This Supports

Multi-currency e-commerce: Enable dynamic pricing, localized checkout flows, and currency conversion for global storefronts (e.g., Shopify, Magento, or custom Laravel-based platforms).
Fintech/ERP integrations: Power cross-border transactions, accounting systems, or FX dashboards with real-time/historical rates (e.g., invoicing, payroll, or reconciliation tools).
Build vs. Buy: Buy for rapid implementation (30+ providers, caching, and fallback logic pre-built). Build only if needing custom provider logic (use the underlying Exchanger library).
Roadmap priorities:
- Phase 1: Integrate florianv/swap for core currency conversion needs (e.g., checkout, admin dashboards).
- Phase 2: Extend with moneyphp/money integration for type-safe monetary calculations.
- Phase 3: Explore historical rate analytics for reporting (e.g., "FX impact on revenue").
Use cases:
- Real-time conversions: Display prices in user’s local currency (e.g., EUR → USD → JPY).
- Batch processing: Convert large datasets (e.g., export invoices in multiple currencies).
- Fallback resilience: Ensure uptime by chaining commercial (fastFOREX) + free (ECB) providers.

When to Consider This Package

Adopt if:

Your PHP app needs currency conversion with minimal boilerplate (30+ providers behind a unified API).
You require fallback logic (e.g., if fastFOREX fails, use ECB as backup).
Your use case involves historical rates (e.g., auditing past transactions) or cryptocurrencies (e.g., crypto payment gateways).
You’re using Laravel/Symfony and want seamless integration (via laravel-swap/symfony-swap).
Your team lacks FX infrastructure expertise—this abstracts provider complexity.

Look elsewhere if:

You need ultra-low latency (e.g., high-frequency trading): Use a direct provider API (e.g., fastFOREX’s native SDK).
You’re not using PHP 8.2+: The package drops support for older versions.
You require custom rate calculations (e.g., margin-based conversions): Extend the underlying Exchanger library instead.
Your budget is < $18/month and you need non-EUR base pairs at scale: Free providers (e.g., ECB) are limited to EUR-based rates.

For Executives: *"Swap is a turnkey solution to eliminate FX conversion headaches in our global products. By integrating this PHP library, we’ll:

Reduce dev time by 80% vs. building a custom FX service (30+ providers pre-integrated).
Improve reliability with automatic fallbacks (e.g., if our paid provider fails, it uses free sources like the ECB).
Future-proof our multi-currency features with historical rate tracking and crypto support. Cost: ~$0 (MIT license) + $18/month for premium rates (optional). ROI: Faster launches, fewer bugs, and scalability for international markets."*

For Engineers: *"Swap gives us a batteries-included FX layer with:

Unified API: Fetch rates from fastFOREX, ECB, or custom sources via a single interface.
Caching: PSR-16 compliant (works with Redis, file cache, etc.) to avoid rate-limit issues.
Fallback chain: If Provider A fails, it silently retries Provider B (configurable in code).
Laravel/Symfony ready: Official packages exist for both frameworks. Tradeoff: We cede some control over HTTP plumbing (uses PSR-18), but the abstraction saves weeks of dev work. For edge cases (e.g., custom rate logic), we can drop down to the Exchanger library."*