About triangulation

The introduction of the new European single currency (euro) is associated with specific regulations. One of these, known as triangulation, governs how currencies of European Monetary Union (EMU) member countries (currencies participating in the euro scheme) are converted. Triangulation refers to the process whereby amounts from one national currency must first be converted to another participating national currency by way of the euro. During triangulation, the source currency is first converted to an intermediate value expressed in euros. This amount is then rounded to not less than three decimal places. Finally, the euro amount is converted to the destination national currency and the result rounded to the appropriate number of decimal places for that country. The exchange rate between the euro and each participating currency is set at a fixed rate that will never change.