Practical know-how for running an exchange

Compliance & risk

Tether Scams at Exchange Offices and How to Prevent Them

Triangle scams, look-alike addresses, address poisoning, fake USDT, fake exchanges and frozen wallets: six real Tether risks and ten rules to stay safe.

9 min read Exchange management

Web-Based or Desktop? Which Software Is Better for an Exchange

Desktop software locks you to one computer; web-based software is reachable from anywhere but raises worries about security and data ownership. Where the real difference lies, and which is the sounder choice for an exchange.

4 min read Exchange management

9 Capabilities Every Exchange Software Must Have

Vendors pad the feature list so the important and the trivial blur together. These nine capabilities are the red lines: without any one of them, exchange software will sooner or later let you down.

3 min read Remittance & banking

Managing Partner-Exchange and Counterparty Accounts (Nostro)

No exchange is an island; every remittance passes through a network of partner exchanges. How to keep counterparty accounts mirrored, catch discrepancies early, and always know whether you're a creditor or a debtor with each partner.

4 min read Exchange management

The Exchange Management Dashboard — Which Numbers Should You See Every Day?

A good dashboard isn't a report; it's an early-warning system. The five numbers an exchange manager should see every morning in ten seconds — real profit, open position, liquidity, obligations, and discrepancy — and why the rest are just distractions.

4 min read Exchange management

How to Choose Exchange Software — A Pre-Purchase Checklist

Buying exchange software is a multi-year decision, not a line item. The seven things to weigh before you sign — from data ownership and currency position to migration and support — each with a simple test.

5 min read Accounting

Multi-Branch Management and Inter-Branch Accounts — When an Exchange Grows

When the second branch opens, bookkeeping turns from a single cash box into a network. Consolidating the ledger, the inter-branch account, per-branch cash separation, and inter-branch settlement — a precise guide for multi-branch exchanges.

7 min read Compliance & risk

AI in AML — An Analysis Assistant, Not the Judge

AI can surface suspicious patterns like structuring and third-party transfers, but the decision and the report stay with a human. Why structured exchange data is the prerequisite for any smart AML analysis.

7 min read Accounting

Currency Exchange Accounting and Operations: The Complete Guide

A complete guide to currency exchange accounting and operations — general ledger, position and revaluation, cash and liquidity, customers, remittance, automation and reports, with links to every specialist guide.

6 min read Accounting

How to Set Exchange Service Fees

A fee is different from a spread. The spread is hidden in the rate; the fee is a separate line for the remittance service. A guide to setting the components of a remittance fee and why it should be recorded separately from the trade itself.

7 min read Accounting

How Exchange Profit Is Calculated — Where Profit Comes From and How to Compute It Precisely

A currency exchange's profit comes from spread, fees and revaluation. How to separate and correctly calculate these three so you know how much you really made, not an end-of-month guess.

7 min read Remittance & banking

A Guide to Renting Tron Energy — Why Every USDT Transfer Burns Money

Every USDT transfer on TRC20 needs Tron "Energy." Without it, the network burns your TRX and the fee multiplies. A plain explanation of what Energy is, why renting it is far cheaper, and how it works — with a numerical example.

6 min read Accounting

Multi-Currency Accounting at a Currency Exchange — Each Currency, a Separate World

Why must each currency have its own independent account and position? The principles of multi-currency accounting at an exchange; holding each currency's balance, revaluation, and where real profit actually comes from.

7 min read Exchange management

From WhatsApp Message to Accounting Entry — Automation Without Retyping

A trade is posted in the WhatsApp group as a formatted message, then someone retypes the same thing into the software by hand. AI can turn the message directly into a recorded trade; the operator only confirms.

7 min read Compliance & risk

Employee Access Control — Who Sees What

At an exchange, the biggest risk does not always come from outside. Least privilege, segregation of duties, and the activity log are the three pillars of internal control. How to decide what each employee should and should not see.

7 min read Remittance & banking

Fake USDT; The Scam That Takes Your Money With a Single Approval

Scammers create a token with a USDT-like name, fake its price near one dollar, and send it to you; you only see the amount and address and approve it. A guide to spotting fake USDT and checking the contract address.

7 min read Accounting

Weighted Average Currency Cost — Know the True Cost of Each Currency

When you buy currency at different rates, what is the cost basis of each unit? The weighted average method and why, without it, exchange profit calculation comes out wrong.

6 min read Exchange management

How to Start a Currency Exchange? A Step-by-Step Launch Guide

Starting an exchange is not just a license and capital. From licensing and initial inventory to choosing an accounting system, corridors, compliance, and the team — with one emphasis: keep a proper ledger from day one, not Excel.

7 min read Accounting

The Accounting Entry for Buying and Selling Currency — How to Record a Trade Correctly

What entry does each currency buy and sell create? A guide to the double-entry recording of an FX trade; what is debited, what is credited, and its effect on position and profit.

7 min read Accounting

Managing Multi-Currency Cash and Liquidity at an Exchange

Several cash boxes in several currencies, physical counting, and the principle that you should never sleep on inflationary money overnight. A practical guide to exchange liquidity so no currency runs short and no money sits idle.

7 min read Remittance & banking

FX Remittance Accounting — From Order to Settlement with the Counterparty

An FX remittance is not just moving money; it is an accounting chain. How to correctly record the remittance order, the liability to the counterparty and the settlement so nothing gets lost.

7 min read Exchange management

The Real Cost of AI in an Exchange — Tokens, Receipts, and OCR Economics

Every receipt OCR costs money. What a token is, why each receipt runs about 1.5 to 3 cents, and how cheap pre-classification keeps the cost of AI in currency exchange accounting software under control.

6 min read Remittance & banking

WhatsApp Receipt OCR — How AI Reads a Receipt and Where It Gets It Wrong

The receipt comes in over WhatsApp and has to be typed. AI can extract the amount and tracking number, but it makes mistakes on the sensitive digits. How to keep the output verifiable and cheap.

7 min read Exchange management

Talking to Exchange Customers on WhatsApp — Without the Chaos

The exchange customer lives on WhatsApp, not in your panel. The right approach is a dedicated group per customer, a read-only statement portal, and sending balances and receipts from the exchange's own line — not chasing down "what's my balance?

7 min read Compliance & risk

FATF and the Grey List — What It Means for a Money Changer

What FATF is, where the difference between the grey and black lists lies, and why a country's presence on these lists makes every transaction with a trace of that country harder and riskier for a money changer. A precise, practical guide.

7 min read Exchange management

The Real Boundary of AI in an Exchange — Where It Helps and Where It Doesn't

AI is excellent at reading receipts and classifying, but not at financial decisions and verification. An honest, hype-free look at the boundary of AI in currency exchange accounting software.

6 min read Accounting

The Exchange P&L Report — How to Read Your Real Profit

An exchange where every single deal was profitable still ends the month with less. The secret behind this paradox is separating operating profit from FX revaluation gains and losses. A guide to reading an exchange's Net Profit correctly.

7 min read Exchange management

A Checklist for Migrating Accounting Data When Switching Exchange Software

When moving off Excel or old software, how do you transfer accounts, customers and balances completely and correctly? A practical checklist for accounting data migration with rial-by-rial verification.

7 min read Remittance & banking

Tether (USDT) in an Exchange — Networks, Fees, and the Wrong-Network Risk

Tether is one, but its networks are not. TRC20, ERC20, and BEP20 differ in fee and speed, and sending on the wrong network means the money is gone. A practical guide to working with USDT in an exchange and proving every transfer with a transaction hash.

7 min read Exchange management

AI in Currency Exchange — Where It Actually Works, Not the Slogans

AI in an exchange means getting rid of manually typing receipts and messages, not handing decisions to a machine. A tour of the real uses of AI in exchange accounting software, from receipt OCR to name translation.

6 min read Compliance & risk

Backups in a Currency Exchange — Don't Lose Your Data

Why does every exchange need regular backups, and what does a proper backup strategy look like? From daily snapshots to restore, so your data is never lost.

6 min read Exchange management

A Money-Exchange Guide for Iranians in Turkey, the UAE and Iraq

Serving the Iranian community abroad runs along three main corridors: Turkey, the UAE and Iraq. Each has its own rules, regulations and corridors. A practical exchanger's guide to working in these three markets.

6 min read Remittance & banking

Bounced Cheques and Sayad Inquiry — A Money Changer's Guide

Cheques are a common payment tool in exchange work, but a bounced cheque can turn a good day into a big loss. How the Sayad system works, what a cheque colour means, and how to weigh the risk before accepting a cheque.

6 min read Accounting

Managing Receivables and Payables at a Money Exchange — Don't Let Debts Slip Away

In a money exchange, half your money is always in someone else's hands, or theirs is in yours. How to track debtors and creditors, close inter-dealer accounts, and drive forgotten receivables to zero.

7 min read Compliance & risk

Customer Onboarding at a Currency Exchange (Practical KYC) — Which Documents, Which Checks

KYC means know your customer, but in practice which document, which check, which question? A step-by-step guide to onboarding an exchange customer, from the minimum file to identity verification.

7 min read Remittance & banking

Payment Receipt Verification — Make Sure the Money Really Arrived

A customer says, “I paid, here’s the receipt.” But fake, old, and reversed receipts burn exchange businesses every day. Verify funds before releasing currency.

6 min read Accounting

7 Common Trade Entry Mistakes That Lead to Reconciliation Breaks

Most FX bureau reconciliation breaks do not come from major failures. They come from seven small, repeated trade-entry mistakes. Know them before the balances stop tying.

6 min read Remittance & banking

Types of Foreign Currency Remittances — A Practical Guide for Exchange Houses

Telegraphic transfers, hawala, UAE dirham, Turkish lira, and informal corridors each have their own speed, cost, and risk. How to choose the right route and record it correctly.

7 min read Exchange management

Buy Rate, Sell Rate, and Spread — Pricing in a Currency Exchange

Spread is where an exchange bureau earns money. Set it wrong and you either go broke or lose customers. How to price, calculate spread, and why the reference rate matters more than the posted rate.

6 min read Accounting

FX Position and Revaluation Profit — The Hidden Core of Bureau de Change Profit

Most exchange offices see trading profit but miss revaluation profit. What an FX position is, how realized and unrealized profit differ, and why weighted average cost changes everything.

7 min read Compliance & risk

AML and KYC for Currency Exchanges, in Plain English

Customer due diligence and anti-money laundering without legal jargon. What to record, which behaviors are real red flags, and why it protects your business even when the law does not force you.

10 min read Accounting

What Is a Currency Exchange General Ledger, and How Do You Keep It Right?

A currency exchange general ledger is different from an ordinary business ledger: it must balance separately in every currency. A practical guide to multi-currency double-entry accounting, from chart of accounts to revaluation.

8 min read Accounting

End-of-Day Reconciliation in an Exchange — A Practical Checklist

Closing the day is not an admin ritual; it is the cheapest insurance a bureau de change has. A seven-step day-close checklist, plus real ways to find breaks when balances do not tie.

8 min read Remittance & banking

Iranian IBAN (Sheba) Structure: Which Digits Are the Bank Code

IR + 2 check digits + a 3-digit bank code + a 19-digit account number = 26 characters. See exactly which positions identify the bank, with the code list for every Iranian bank.

9 min read Exchange management

Why Excel Is Not Enough to Manage a Currency Exchange

Excel is not a bad tool; it is the wrong one. Five places where exchange spreadsheets break, and a simple test to see whether it is time to migrate.

8 min read