WonderProxy will be announcing availability of a new server in Uganda any day now. We’re very excited. When we first launched WonderProxy the concept of having a server anywhere in Africa seemed far-fetched. Uganda is shaping up to be our fifth.

Our provider asked us to pay them by wire transfer, so I dutifully walked to the bank, stood in line, then paid $40CAD in fees & a horrible exchange (to USD) rate to send them money. Not a great day, so I grabbed a burrito on the way home. A few days later we were informed that some intermediary bank had skimmed $20USD off our wire transfer, so our payment was $20USD short. Swell.

In order to send them $20USD, I’d need to go back to the bank, stand in line, hope I got a teller who knew how to do wire transfers (the first guy didn’t), buy $20USD for the provider, $20USD for the intermediate bank, and pay $40CAD for the privilege. $80 to send them $20. Super.

Luckily XE came in to save the day again. Using their convenient online interface I was able to transfer $40USD for only $63CAD, including my wire fee. I paid a much better exchange rate, lower wire fees, and didn’t have to put pants on. The only downside was a lack of burrito. Bummer.

If you’re dealing with multiple currencies and multiple countries, and these days it’s incredibly likely that you are, I’d highly recommend XE.


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Hi, I’m Paul Reinheimer, a developer working on the web.

I co-founded WonderProxy which provides access to over 200 proxies around the world to enable testing of geoip sensitive applications. We've since expanded to offer more granular tooling through Where's it Up

My hobbies are cycling, photography, travel, and engaging Allison Moore in intelligent discourse. I frequently write about PHP and other related technologies.

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