Introduction

Mi API BCV is a Laravel-based API that scrapes and provides real-time USD/VES exchange rates from major Venezuelan banks.

What is Mi API BCV?

Mi API BCV is a web scraping API built with Laravel 12 that collects and serves real-time USD to VES (Bolívares) exchange rates from multiple Venezuelan financial institutions. It provides a simple REST API for accessing current and historical exchange rate data.

Why Mi API BCV?

In Venezuela, accessing reliable and up-to-date currency exchange rates can be challenging. Different banks publish their rates on their websites, but there’s no centralized API to access this information programmatically. Mi API BCV solves this problem by:

• Centralizing Data: Aggregates rates from BCV (Banco Central de Venezuela), Banplus, BNC (Banco Nacional de Crédito), and BDV (Banco de Venezuela)
• Automating Collection: Runs scheduled scraping tasks multiple times daily to keep rates current
• Providing Easy Access: Offers a simple REST API with cached responses for fast performance
• Maintaining History: Stores historical rate data for trend analysis and reporting

Key Features

Multi-Source Scraping

Collects exchange rates from four major Venezuelan banks using intelligent web scraping and API integration strategies.

Automated Updates

Scheduled command runs multiple times daily (11 times from midnight to 7:30 AM) to fetch the latest rates automatically.

Smart Caching

Implements 1-hour caching per date to reduce database queries and improve response times.

RESTful API

Simple endpoints to retrieve current rates or query historical data by date and source.

Strategy Pattern Architecture

Clean, extensible codebase using the Strategy pattern for different bank data sources.

Data Sources

• BCV (Banco Central de Venezuela): The official central bank rate
• Banplus: Commercial bank rate from their public website
• BNC (Banco Nacional de Crédito): National credit bank rate
• BDV (Banco de Venezuela): Rate from their JSON API endpoint

Quick Example

Get today’s exchange rates from all banks:

curl https://your-domain.com/api/

Response:

{
  "message": "Consulta exitosa",
  "bcv": {
    "value": 45.25,
    "date": "2026-03-04"
  },
  "banplus": {
    "value": 45.30,
    "date": "2026-03-04"
  },
  "bnc": {
    "value": 45.28,
    "date": "2026-03-04"
  },
  "bdv": {
    "value": 45.26,
    "date": "2026-03-04"
  }
}

Getting Started

Quickstart

Get up and running in 5 minutes

Installation

Complete installation guide

How It Works

Understand the scraping system

Configuration

Configure your installation

Technology Stack

• Laravel 12: Modern PHP framework with excellent developer experience
• PHP 8.2+: Latest PHP features and performance improvements
• Symfony DomCrawler: Powerful HTML parsing and scraping
• SQLite/MySQL: Flexible database options for data storage
• Laravel Cache: Built-in caching for optimal performance
• Laravel Scheduler: Automated task execution via cron

Use Cases

• Financial Applications: Integrate real-time exchange rates into fintech apps
• E-commerce: Display accurate pricing in both VES and USD
• Analytics Dashboards: Track exchange rate trends over time
• Cryptocurrency Exchanges: Compare bank rates with crypto rates
• Accounting Software: Automatic currency conversion for accounting