Amadeus FQB Command: Bankers’ Exchange Rates

A complete guide to the FQB command in Amadeus — how to display bankers’ selling and buying rates for a currency, including historical rates for a past date.

FQB is the Amadeus GDS command used to display bankers’ selling and buying rates for a specific currency, including rates for a past date.

Category: Informative Pricing.

The FQB command provides bankers’ exchange rates for a currency. It can display either the selling rate or the buying rate, and historical rates can be requested by adding a date.

Unlike the IATA Rate of Exchange (IROE) used for fare construction, bankers’ rates are commercial rates applied by banks and financial institutions. They are used when converting money at the counter, settling invoices, or estimating what a customer will actually pay when exchanging currency.

Display the bankers’ selling rate for a currency:

FQB NOK

This displays the bankers’ selling rate for NOK (Norwegian Krone) — the rate at which a bank would sell NOK to a customer.

Display the selling rate for a past date:

FQB NOK/14SEP0X

This displays the bankers’ selling rate for NOK on the past date specified. Historical rates are useful for refunds, audits, and reconciling transactions that took place earlier.

Display the bankers’ buying rate for a currency:

FQB KRW/B

This displays the bankers’ buying rate for KRW (South Korean Won) — the rate at which a bank would buy KRW from a customer. The /B indicator specifies the buying rate.

Display the buying rate for a past date:

FQB KRW/B/14SEP0X

This displays the bankers’ buying rate for KRW on the past date specified. Use it when reconstructing an older transaction or verifying a refund calculation.

Use FQB when you need to check bankers’ buying or selling exchange rates for a currency, including historical rates for a specific past date. Typical scenarios include:

• Estimating what a customer will pay when exchanging currency at the bank.
• Comparing bankers’ rates with the IATA Rate of Exchange used for fares.
• Reconciling a corporate account settled in a foreign currency.
• Supporting a refund or reissue where the original rate must be recreated.
• Auditing a past transaction to confirm the exchange rate applied.
• Providing a customer with an indicative rate before finalising a sale.
• Preparing financial reports that require historical exchange rates.

A typical pricing session using FQB might look like this:

• Identify the currency you need a bankers’ rate for.
• Enter FQB NOK for the selling rate or FQB KRW/B for the buying rate.
• For past transactions, add the date, for example FQB NOK/14SEP0X.
• Compare the bankers’ rate with the IATA rate retrieved with FQA if a fare conversion is involved.
• Use FQC to perform the actual conversion once the rate is confirmed.
• Complete the pricing and ticketing as required.

• FQB → displays bankers’ selling and buying rates, including historical rates.
• FQA → displays IATA Rates of Exchange (IROE) for a country.
• FQC → performs currency conversions and retrieves historical exchange rates.
• FQD / FQN → fare display and fare rules commands.
• FQP / FXP → creates a fare quote or prices a booked itinerary.

The distinction matters: FQA and FQC use IATA rates for fare construction, while FQB provides bankers’ commercial rates for currency exchange and settlement purposes.

Tip: Bankers’ rates and IATA Rates of Exchange are not the same and should not be used interchangeably. Use the IATA rate for fare construction and the bankers’ rate for estimating currency exchange or settlement.

Always check whether the selling rate or buying rate is required — the difference can be significant in a large transaction.

What does FQB do in Amadeus?

FQB displays bankers’ selling and buying rates for a currency, and can retrieve historical rates for a past date.

What is the difference between selling and buying rates?

The selling rate is what a bank charges when selling currency to a customer. The buying rate is what a bank pays when buying currency from a customer.

How do I specify the buying rate?

Add /B after the currency code, for example FQB KRW/B.

How do I retrieve a historical bankers’ rate?

Add the date to the entry, for example FQB NOK/14SEP0X for the selling rate, or FQB KRW/B/14SEP0X for the buying rate.