How to Read Your FX Comparison Results
Updated: 2026-06-28
Results look simple — two amounts and a percentage — but people misread them when bank reality and reference movement blur together. This guide walks one fixed example through the Compare to today card.
When you run the app yourself, the today side always pulls the latest ECB publish at request time. Everything below about 13 March 2026 is stable; the today column uses a pinned snapshot so you can follow the maths on paper.
Setup: exchange day (fixed)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date | 13 March 2026 |
| Amount | $1,000 USD → EUR |
| Bank receipt | €855 received → rate 0.8550 |
| ECB reference that day | 0.8714 → €871.38 at benchmark |
You log custom rate 0.855 (user source). The card anchors on €855, not €871.38.
Setup: today side (pinned snapshot)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Snapshot label | 26 June 2026 (example "today" when this guide was checked) |
| Latest ECB USD → EUR | 0.8771 |
| Implied € on $1,000 | €877.12 |
In the live app on a later calendar day, the rate and euro line will differ — that is expected. The structure of the card is what this guide teaches.
What the card shows
Line 1 — Target amount at exchange date
€855 — from your rate. If you had left rate blank, the card would use €871.38 and mix markup into a timing story.
Line 2 — Target amount at comparison date (today)
$1,000 × 0.8771 = €877.12 at the pinned latest reference.
The today side is always reference-based in Compare to today — not your bank's live quote.
Line 3 — Difference and percentage
Compare to today contrasts your exchange-day proceeds against today's reference on the same $1,000:
- Absolute: €877.12 − €855 = +€22.12
- Percentage: roughly +2.6% on the euro proceeds line
In this illustration, today's reference implies more euro than you received in March on the same notional — reference movement since your trade, measured against your logged proceeds.
What this does not mean
- Not "wire again today" — new fees apply.
- Not "you lost €16 vs the market on 13 March" — ECB minus receipt that day was €16.38 (markup), a separate line of inquiry.
- Not a forecast — 0.8771 is a snapshot, not tomorrow's rate.
Compare dates card (shorter)
On Compare dates, both sides use ECB references only — no user rate. See the two-date walkthrough: $1,000 USD → EUR, 2 Mar vs 1 Jun 2026 ≈ +€3.81 (+0.45%) at reference.
Rate source recap
| Source | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ecb | Exchange-day rate from ECB reference |
| user | You typed receipt / portal rate |
Today's side: latest reference at click time. Saved exchanges remember your source when you Compare again from My Exchanges.
Sanity checks
- Direction — USD → EUR is not EUR → USD.
- Weekends — picks may map to prior business days (basics guide).
- Fees — a $12 wire on $800 can exceed a 0.3% reference edge.
- Both metrics — read euros and percent.
Save and revisit
Save to my exchanges if you will re-check this trade. Compare again later refreshes the today line with the then-current latest reference — numbers will move; the reading method stays the same.
For real-life timing (payroll, invoices, repeated sends), see Exchange Timing and Rate Changes.
Try it in FX Comparison