Review of the Bloomberg.com Currency Converter

The real question is how good it is.  Let’s take a look now to see whether it is one that is worth using or not.

What is the URL to go directly to it?

The Bloomberg home page is at www.bloomberg.com, but the page to go directly to the currency converter is at http://www.bloomberg.com/invest/calculators/currency.html.  This is just one of many calculators that are available to use on their website.

What is it like?

The one thing that is immediately noticeable about this website is that it has a black background.  That doesn’t make things any harder to find though, as the currency converter is right at the top of the page when you access it.

It is also very simply laid out.  There is no chance of getting things wrong as each box is clearly labeled and no instructions are really needed.

Is it easy to use?

Definitely!  The one piece of information you get at the top of the converter is that you can choose from more than two hundred currencies.  That makes this calculator one of the more comprehensive ones available online today.

As per usual, the two drop down boxes are present for you to select your two currencies in.  So you go from one currency and into another one.  You then enter the amount you want converted.  From there it is a simple step to click on the ‘calculate’ button to get the figures you want.

As with some other currency converters you will see that the page doesn’t refresh or change when you hit ‘calculate’.  Instead the information you want appears at the bottom, underneath the currency converter itself.  Details about the conversion are included next, which may be of use if you are looking for a very precise conversion that is really up to the minute.

As it stands there is really very little else to say about this converter.  It provides only the bare basics, but there is nothing wrong with that at all.  This is the type of converter that will be used more by people who are interested in the financial markets and in foreign exchange trading.  No one thinking of going on vacation or taking a break is liable to even find their way to this website, so it makes sense that it should be presented in such a way as to provide only the most basic financial information.

In this sense making it basic is the best approach that Bloomberg could have taken.

Are there any particular features worth noting?

You might think that having over two hundred currencies to choose from will make it hard work when it comes to finding the ones you want.

But in actual fact it is not that tricky at all.  You can hit the first letter of the country you want in order to get to the appropriate section of the alphabet.  But in addition to that you can scroll through them even faster by typing in the first two letters of the country you want.

So for example, let’s say that you want to find the US dollar.  If you type in the letters US you will go straight to it, because that is the first one that comes up with US at the beginning. 

This is a very simple thing to remember, but it is certainly worth doing so because it makes searching through so many different currencies a lot faster than it would be otherwise.

Apart from this little tip, there is nothing much else to say about this simple but effective currency converter.  If you need other financial calculators then it is a good idea to click on the link that takes you back to the main calculators’ page.  This could be useful for all kinds of purposes.

In conclusion

Bloomberg doesn’t offer historical currency data, but that is no loss on a site like this.  Bloomberg is known for its up to the minute financial information and news stories, so anything which is more historical in nature isn’t really going to fit in as well.

If you like your currency converters to be no nonsense, quick and easy and very simple to use, then this one will probably be top of your list.  The fact that you don’t need to wait for the page to refresh is, well… refreshingly good too.