How often do currency exchange rates change - and why?

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Monitoring foreign exchange (forex) rates helps you budget for fees and secure the best conversion deal. This awareness enables you to make better decisions, especially when you’re planning to travel or send money abroad.

Does the exchange rate change daily? Yes, and the frequency is as many as the seconds in a day. However, you may wonder why rates vary across providers and their websites.

This guide explains how often this rate fluctuates, why they do, and how these changes affect your money transfers. You'll also discover why the exchange rates you find in online search engines differ from those in banks or money transfer services.

You can also gain a clearer view of why remittance costs shift and how to plan transfers more strategically.

How often do exchange rates change?

You may be wondering, “How often does the exchange rate change?”

Because currency markets operate almost 24 hours a day¹ on weekdays, market rates change continuously throughout the day. A currency's valuation hinges on real-time supply and demand. Its price rises when there are more purchasers than available sellers. Meanwhile, the currency falls when selling pressure exceeds buying interest.

However, the consumer rate offered by banks and money transfer offices isn’t exactly the same as the market rate at any given moment. And why do market and consumer rates differ?

Currency exchange providers and apps

Currency exchange providers typically update their publicly displayed rates once daily, although some commercial banks may offer real-time rates.

They may intentionally publish updates less frequently to manage costs and risks. Data vendors typically charge premium fees to access real-time forex figures. Moreover, supplying second-by-second updates to a large user base would also need expensive software², bandwidth, and server infrastructure³. Hence, money-changing services may opt for a 15-20 minute delay.

Displaying forex rates at these intervals can also improve customer experience. Constantly updating feeds can overwhelm or confuse customers. Less frequent updates enable them to process information more rationally.

All providers also add a fee on top of the interbank or live market rate to make a profit. The final rate applied to the consumer rate and the frequency of rate adjustments are part of their pricing strategy.

Banks

Commercial and retail banks update their rates differently. While commercial banks have their own policies for publishing updated rates, some may provide real-time or near-real-time quotes for large-volume transactions. Others may update their online sites or in-branch boards only once daily, just like retail banks do.

Retail banks serve individual, non-business customers. They base their rates on wholesale markets or large financial institutions that trade currencies directly with one another.

Both bank types incorporate a profit margin into their exchange rates to generate revenue, cover operational costs, and manage risks. However, commercial bank rates involve lower markups. Meanwhile, retail banks typically apply a markup and a separate processing fee.

Money transfer operators (MTOs)

MTOs update their rates in real time and are typically closer to the mid-market or "real" exchange rate. It’s the midpoint between the buying and selling prices in the forex market and doesn’t include markups yet.

But if this is so, why is Western Union’s exchange rate lower than what you see on Google or online currency converters? It adds a markup to the mid-market rate (also sometimes called the spot rate). The difference represents its profit margin.

Airport exchange counters

Although exchange counters track forex market fluctuations, they generally carry the rate set by their parent institution or bank for the day.

You can refer to this table for a quick answer to “How often do currency rates change by provider?”

Type of rate	Frequency of updates	Who uses it
Market rate (interbank / mid-market)	Every second	Financial institutions, currency traders, Google rate displays, and financial news websites
Commercial banks and money transfer services	Every several seconds (10-15) to several minutes	Banks, money transfer operators, and digital remittance apps
Retail banks consumer rate	Typically, once a day	Traditional banks sell currency to walk-in clients
Airport exchange counters	Once daily	Airport currency exchange counters, hotels, kiosks

Do exchange rates change daily?

Banks and money transfer apps may seem to update exchange rates only once per day. That’s because they batch or group real-time fluctuations into fewer updates.

When you check exchange rates via Google, Bing, or other search engines, what you see is the mid-market rate. It's the reference rate that service providers use, but not the amount you’ll get when you exchange or send currency through their physical office or app.

What causes exchange rates to change?

A combination of the seven economic and political factors below influences the supply and demand for a currency, and consequently, its exchange rate against other currencies.

Interest rates

Higher interest rates encourage foreign investors to pour capital into another country. Hence, when central banks raise interest rates, they can prop up a currency's value. Conversely, lower interest rates can depreciate currencies.

Inflation

A lower inflation rate can strengthen a currency's value as it increases purchasing power. When inflation rises, the perceived value of the currency declines, which makes it less attractive in the foreign market.⁴

Political stability

In the face of global uncertainty, investors want reliability. That's why stable political conditions marked by strong governance and forecasts of economic growth boost investor confidence. In turn, this stirs up demand for a currency.

News

The forex market can react immediately to an unexpected government policy (on trade, taxes, or business-related regulations) or a surprising economic report. Geopolitical events (elections, war, public unrest, and corruption scandals) and even natural disasters that put a nation's economy on the brink can cause its currency to lose appeal.

Central Bank actions

Besides adjusting interest rates, central banks directly influence exchange rates by engaging in open market operations to buy or sell government securities or their currency.

Speculation and trading volumes

When traders speculate or anticipate an increase in a currency's value and buy it, demand accelerates, leading to a spike in its value. High trading volumes can amplify the effects of the move.

Time of day

Market activity fluctuates throughout the day, impacting trading volume and liquidity. Trading can be less active at the first and final hours of major trading sessions as traders react to overnight news or close positions. Then activity and volume pick up when major sessions overlap, leading to faster price changes.

The trading session operating at particular hours sees the most changes. For instance, the AUD/JPY pair fluctuates the most during the Asian trading session.

When do exchange rates change the most?

Another term to describe the frequency and extent of these changes is volatility. Low volatility means stable and gradual movements in a currency's value. Meanwhile, high volatility indicates rapid and large price swings. So, when are forex rates most volatile?

When trading sessions overlap

Peak volatility occurs from 9:00 to 17:00 GMT when the top two trading sessions (London and New York) overlap. Currency traders from the two biggest financial centers are simultaneously active during this window. Breaking economic news (employment, GDP, or inflation) from the U.S. and Europe also adds volatility within this period.

Meanwhile, the exchange rate is the least volatile in the evening in the U.S., when the New York stock market is closed.

Monday morning and Friday evening

The start and end of the business week are also the most volatile. On Mondays, prices can move sharply in the early hours as traders react to news over the weekend. Meanwhile, movements can be unpredictable in the closing hours of Friday as traders take caution over what may happen in the next two days.

Awareness of these volatility peaks can help you schedule your money transfers more effectively. Send your remittance when the sending currency is strong compared to your recipient's currency so that they can get more value from every dollar you send.

Best day of the week to exchange currency

General trends show that the best day to exchange currency is between Tuesday and Thursday. On these days, the forex spread is smaller because market activity has stabilized after a more highly volatile Monday and Friday, when trading opens and wraps up. The spread is the difference between the buying and selling prices of a currency pair.

The highest trading activity happens in the middle of the week. Trade volume is high at this time, with central banks, institutional investors, and commercial banks participating. Buyers and sellers offer competitive bid-ask prices, usually at a narrower spread.

Despite this market pattern, however, it's best to study and compare how service providers update rates and how much they charge for processing the transfer. Some use market-based pricing and make adjustments based on data feeds. Others only update rates once a day for more predictable pricing. So in reality, the "best day" depends on the provider you'll use for the remittance.

Why BOSS Money offers fair rates

With BOSS Money, you'll get more value for every money transfer because of the following:

Transparent and frequently updated forex rates (conversion from USD to your recipient's currency)
The exact (fixed) amount you'll pay for the money transfer
No hidden dynamic currency conversion (DCC) services that are typically set by merchants and ATM operators — no airport-style markups
No SWIFT fees, which banks impose for processing international wire transfers

Tips to get the best exchange rate

Here are some strategies to get the best exchange rate for your currency exchange or money transfer and minimize expenses:

Check the exchange rate in advance using reputable online converter tools. Many providers allow people to access their websites to view indicative rates (derived from market rates) without registration or logging in. Using this feature lets you compare rates quickly.
Search for multiple providers to compare rates and applicable fees.
Choose licensed money transfer services to protect yourself from scams and for guaranteed fund delivery.
Exchange or send money at a time when the exchange rates are favorable. Review the previous section, "Best day of the week to exchange currency."
Avoid airport and hotel exchange counters because they offer the poorest exchange rates.
Select to pay in the local currency when paying or withdrawing with your bank card to avoid unfavorable DCC rates.
Use a no-foreign-transaction-fee (no-FX-fee) card while overseas or during travel to avoid extra charges.

FAQs

Does the exchange rate change every day?

No, they actually change every second in currency markets. However, most banks and other service providers update their published rates once daily. The reality is that market rates constantly change. However, the consumer rate from your bank or currency exchange app only gets adjusted daily.

When is the best time to check exchange rates?

Start tracking exchange rates one to two weeks before you send money or exchange your currency to discover trends. This also helps you avoid being hasty about selecting a service provider.

Why do exchange rates differ between banks?

Banks impose varying fees. Commercial bank rates often offer more favorable (lower markups) than retail banks, as the former handles higher-volume, wholesale transactions.

Why do Western Union FX rates differ from Google’s rates?

Western Union's FX rates have been marked up to include processing and other fees compared to Google's, which uses mid-market data from global trading markets.

How often does Western Union update its rates?

Similar to other money transfer services, Western Union updates its exchange rates multiple times a day to reflect real-time market activity.

Looking for the best forex rate? Stay on top with BOSS Money

A better understanding of foreign exchange rates and the frequency of rate changes can help you make more informed choices when sending money or exchanging currency. Getting the most value from your transaction doesn’t depend on a “magic time.” Instead, monitor trends, time your remittance or currency conversion, and compare provider rates several weeks ahead. Download BOSS Money today for transparent forex rates and fees.

Sources: all third party information obtained from applicable website as of November 21, 2025

https://www.forex.com/en/trading-guides/forex-market-hours/
https://medium.com/@fable.fintech/what-do-fx-saas-for-banks-do-db24f4cacf2c
https://medium.com/data-science-at-microsoft/data-currency-gain-the-temporal-edge-in-ai-f1c1c62a8681
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/022415/how-does-inflation-affect-exchange-rate-between-two-nations.asp

This article is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to address every aspect of the matters discussed herein. The information in this article is not intended as specific personal advice. The information in this article does not constitute legal, tax, regulatory or other professional advice from IDT Payment Services, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively, “IDT”), and should not be taken or used as such by any individual. IDT makes no representation, warranty or guaranty, whether express or implied, that the content in this article is current, accurate, or complete. You should obtain professional or other substantive advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the information in this article.