State which currency is being bought, what you are paying with, and what will happen if its rate falls.
The quoted (spot) rate is an informational indicator. It is not a promise of the price at which a bank or currency service will execute a transaction.
A provider may quote a different rate when selling you currency than when buying it from you. The gap is called the spread, and sometimes there is also a commission. Therefore check how much you actually pay and how much you actually receive, not only the headline “no commission.” Yahoo rates shown on a website are market data, not the Bank of Israel’s quoted rate nor a binding commercial offer.
Example: the provider sells you a dollar at 3.70 ₪ and buys it back at 3.60 ₪. Converting 100 dollars there and back at those rates costs 10 ₪, even without a market move and before any additional commission.
State which currency is being bought, what you are paying with, and what will happen if its rate falls.
Suppose an exercise charges four local units per foreign unit and a fixed fee of ten local units. From a total budget of 410, only 400 remains for conversion, producing 100 foreign units. Ignoring the fee could create an incorrect expectation of 102.5. Converting back may involve another rate and fee. Compare offers by calculating the money actually received from the same budget, at the same time and in the same direction.
Concepts that help you compare
FX: What’s the price of a dollar?
FX means foreign currency. An exchange rate describes how many units of one currency equal one unit of another currency. In the pair USD/ILS the dollar is the base currency and the shekel is the quote currency: the number tells how many shekels one dollar costs. EUR/USD shows how many dollars one euro costs. A rise in the pair means the base currency strengthened relative to the quote currency. FOREX is the foreign exchange market; converting money for travel is not the same product as trading leveraged derivatives.
Comparison example: For example only, USD/ILS = 3.60: buying 100 dollars costs 360 ₪ before costs. If the rate falls to 3.40, the same 100 dollars are worth 340 ₪.
Commissions and management fees are costs that reduce the investor's outcome. There are transaction costs and ongoing costs. Compare products by the total set of terms, not only past returns. A small percentage charged over years can affect the remaining amount. Tax rates depend on the product and the circumstances and are not uniform.
Comparison example: If a purchase fee of 5 ₪ is charged on a 100 ₪ transaction, that is a 5% cost of the amount even before any price change.