How does Artoh compare to traditional bank FX?
Traditional bank FX converts currency at a marked-up rate and, in dollar-short markets, only after a business has queued for a central-bank allocation — so the real cost is the wait, not just the spread. Artoh provides access to compliant USD liquidity at competitive rates and settles in hours, so businesses can convert and move value before currency volatility or an allocation backlog erodes it.
| Dimension | Artoh | Traditional Bank FX |
|---|---|---|
| Access to dollars | Sourced through licensed partners, independent of the local allocation queue. | Limited by the bank's reserves and central-bank rationing. |
| Rate | Competitive, transparent rates with a single all-in cost. | Marked-up rate plus fees, often without full visibility. |
| Speed to settle | Hours — conversion and cross-border settlement in one flow. | Days, and longer when an allocation must be approved first. |
| Predictability | Known timing, so treasury can forecast confidently. | Unknown timing while requests sit in the allocation backlog. |
| Volatility exposure | Less time held in local currency means less devaluation risk. | Capital sits in local currency while it waits to convert. |
The cost is the wait, not just the spread
Businesses often focus on the FX rate, but in hard-currency markets the larger cost is time. A balance held in local currency while it waits in the allocation queue can lose meaningful value to devaluation before it ever converts — a cost no quoted rate reflects.
Fast access to USD liquidity changes that math: the less time capital spends trapped in local currency, the less exposure it carries.
What Artoh does differently
Artoh provides access to compliant USD liquidity at competitive rates and settles cross-border in hours, combining conversion and movement in a single, predictable flow. Pricing is one transparent all-in cost rather than a spread plus opaque fees.
As with any regulated flow, full KYC/AML controls apply. The advantage is liquidity and speed, not a shortcut around compliance.