Last verified: May 16, 2026
This site publishes prices, exchange rates, interest rates, remittance costs, and bank comparisons. All of that data only becomes useful if you can trust it. This section documents how every figure you see in a table, widget, or score on livinginguatemala.com is constructed.
Why we publish our methodology openly
Most sites that compare banks, remittance providers, or exchange rates don’t show where their numbers come from. We do. Three reasons:
- Verifiability. If we publish that today’s Banguat exchange rate is Q7.72, you should be able to go to the official source and confirm it in under a minute.
- Accountability. When we rank a bank as “best for USD cash exchange” with a score of 87/100, you should be able to see exactly what is being measured and at what weight.
- External audit. Any journalist, researcher, or user should be able to point at an error and understand how to correct it.
The 3 data promises
1. Freshness
Every figure on this site carries a visible timestamp (Last updated: ...). If the figure is more than 24 hours old for daily data, or past its expected window for weekly/monthly data, we say so. We don’t dress up stale data as current.
See: How We Update Rates.
2. Verifiable sources
Every data point has an official source behind it. We don’t invent averages, copy from other sites without checking against the primary source, or use “internal estimates” without labeling them. When a figure is estimated (for example, Western Union margins derived from the Banguat reference rate plus public fees), we mark it as an estimate.
See: Data Sources.
3. Scoring transparency
When we compare products (bank accounts, remittance providers, mortgages) we use weighted scores. The exact formulas — what percentage spread tightness is worth, what percentage ATM network is worth, etc. — are published. If you disagree with a weight, you can see the raw data and apply your own.
See: How We Calculate Scores.
How to verify our data
Every data page publishes the source name and a link to it. To verify manually:
| To verify… | Go to the official source |
|---|---|
| Banguat exchange rate | banguat.gob.gt |
| Commercial bank exchange rates | Each bank’s website (Banrural, BI, BAC, etc.) |
| Banking system interest rates | Banguat tarifarios |
| Fuel prices | mem.gob.gt |
| Remittance rates | wise.com/compare, each provider’s site |
| Government procedures | tramites.gob.gt |
If you find a discrepancy, we want to know.
How to report errors or stale data
Three paths:
- Direct email: corrections@livinginguatemala.com (reviewed daily).
- Public comment: on the data page itself when available.
- GitHub issue: the tooling repo is semi-public for technical reports.
Response-time commitment:
- Critical error (incorrect figure that could cost you money): correction within 24 h.
- Stale data (source changed but we missed it): correction within 72 h.
- Methodology improvement (suggested weight change or new source): reviewed in the next quarterly audit.
The 4 pieces of this section
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Data Sources | Every source we use, official URL, what we extract, refresh frequency |
| How We Update Rates | Exact update schedules, what happens when a source fails, fallback policy |
| How We Calculate Scores | The 5 scoring frameworks published with weights and worked examples |
| Changes and corrections | Public log of corrections applied |
What this methodology does NOT cover
Honest limits on what we can guarantee:
- Changes between refreshes. If a bank changes its ATM fee between 6:00 AM (when our scraper runs) and 10:00 AM (when you read the page), your real experience may differ from the figure shown. That is why we always publish the timestamp.
- Geographic coverage. Some rates (fuel prices by department) are only published for departments that MEM reports on. Departments without a report show as “no data,” not zero.
- Individual negotiation. Mortgages, wire fees, and preferential rates can be negotiated case by case. We publish the public standard rate.
- Regulatory changes without warning. If Banguat modifies how it calculates the reference exchange rate, there is a natural delay between the change and our adaptation.
Disclaimers
- This information is for reference, not personalized financial advice. For significant financial decisions (corporate account opening, mortgage, large remittance transfers), consult a credentialed financial advisor in Guatemala.
- Data may change between the last scrape and the moment you read the page. Always confirm with the institution before closing a transaction.
- We have no financial relationship with Banguat, MEM, or SAT. We do have affiliate relationships with some remittance providers (Wise, Remitly), disclosed at /disclosure/. These relationships do NOT affect scores or rankings.
External audit
We are open to external audit. If you are a journalist, academic, or researcher who wants to reproduce our numbers, write to us: we have a 400+ day historical archive of exchange rates and can share raw data samples for validation.
This page will be updated when we change a scoring weight, add a source, or retire a scraper. The change log is available on request.