ClearCash converts foreign currency amounts for your reports using historical exchange rates. Here is how that works.
How Conversion Works
Transactions are stored in their original currency
When you record a transaction or connect an account, ClearCash stores the amount in the currency it actually occurred in. A payment of £85 is stored as £85 — not as a converted dollar amount. This keeps your records accurate regardless of how exchange rates move over time.
Reports are shown in your reporting currency
Your reporting currency is the currency you’ve chosen for summaries, net worth, and budgets. If you set USD as your reporting currency, all foreign amounts are automatically converted to USD when your reports are calculated. You can change this at any time in Settings → Currency.
Conversions use the rate from the transaction date
ClearCash uses the exchange rate from the date the transaction occurred — not today’s rate. A transaction from six months ago will always show the same converted amount, regardless of what rates do afterward. This keeps your historical data accurate and consistent.
Where Rates Come From
ClearCash uses reference rates published daily by the European Central Bank (ECB). Rates are published on every business day at approximately 4:00 PM Central European Time and are updated in ClearCash shortly after.
What is a mid-market rate?
The ECB publishes mid-market rates — the midpoint between what banks are buying and selling a currency for at any given moment. Mid-market rates are the global standard for financial reporting and are used by banks, accounting software, and financial data providers worldwide.
Why your bank statement may look different
When your bank processes a foreign currency transaction, they apply their own exchange rate, which includes a markup — typically 1–3% above the mid-market rate. This markup is how banks earn revenue on currency conversion.
This difference is expected. Every major personal finance application handles currency conversion this way. If you need to record the exact amount your bank charged, you can manually enter a transaction in your reporting currency.
Weekends and public holidays
The ECB does not publish rates on weekends or public holidays. For transactions that fall on those days, ClearCash uses the most recent available rate — typically the previous Friday or last business day. Currency markets are closed on weekends, so this is standard practice across the industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are exchange rates updated in real time?
No — rates are updated once per business day, in line with the ECB’s publication schedule. For personal financial tracking, daily rates are more than sufficient. If you need real-time rates for active currency trading, ClearCash is not designed for that use case.
How far back does exchange rate history go?
ClearCash has historical ECB rates going back to January 2016. Transactions dated before that will use the January 2016 rate as the earliest available.
Why does my converted amount look different from my bank statement?
ClearCash uses mid-market rates for display purposes, while your bank applies a rate with a spread above the mid-market rate. This means the converted amount you see in ClearCash may look slightly more favorable than what your bank actually charged. See the section above for more detail.
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