diff --git a/erpnext/public/js/controllers/transaction.js b/erpnext/public/js/controllers/transaction.js
index b45e1208ce..878c9ceca8 100644
--- a/erpnext/public/js/controllers/transaction.js
+++ b/erpnext/public/js/controllers/transaction.js
@@ -245,10 +245,15 @@ erpnext.TransactionController = erpnext.taxes_and_totals.extend({
 	},
 
 	get_exchange_rate: function(from_currency, to_currency, callback) {
-		var exchange_name = from_currency + "-" + to_currency;
-		frappe.model.with_doc("Currency Exchange", exchange_name, function(name) {
-			var exchange_doc = frappe.get_doc("Currency Exchange", exchange_name);
-			callback(exchange_doc ? flt(exchange_doc.exchange_rate) : 0);
+		frappe.call({
+			method: "erpnext.setup.utils.get_exchange_rate",
+			args: {
+				from_currency: from_currency,
+				to_currency: to_currency
+			},
+			callback: function(r) {
+				callback(flt(r.message));
+			}
 		});
 	},
 
diff --git a/erpnext/setup/doctype/currency_exchange/currency_exchange.py b/erpnext/setup/doctype/currency_exchange/currency_exchange.py
index 17a103764b..6022812975 100644
--- a/erpnext/setup/doctype/currency_exchange/currency_exchange.py
+++ b/erpnext/setup/doctype/currency_exchange/currency_exchange.py
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ from frappe import _
 from frappe.model.document import Document
 
 class CurrencyExchange(Document):
-
 	def autoname(self):
 		self.name = self.from_currency + "-" + self.to_currency
 
diff --git a/erpnext/setup/utils.py b/erpnext/setup/utils.py
index e3a034c787..2923f67a63 100644
--- a/erpnext/setup/utils.py
+++ b/erpnext/setup/utils.py
@@ -58,6 +58,20 @@ def before_tests():
 	frappe.db.sql("delete from `tabItem Price`")
 	frappe.db.commit()
 
+@frappe.whitelist()
 def get_exchange_rate(from_currency, to_currency):
-	exchange = "%s-%s" % (from_currency, to_currency)
-	return flt(frappe.db.get_value("Currency Exchange", exchange, "exchange_rate"))
+	if frappe.conf.jsonrates_api_key:
+		cache = frappe.cache()
+		key = "currency_exchange_rate:{0}:{1}".format(from_currency, to_currency)
+		value = cache.get(key)
+		if not value:
+			import requests
+			response = requests.get("http://jsonrates.com/get/?from={0}&to={1}&apiKey={2}".format(from_currency,
+				to_currency, frappe.conf.jsonrates_api_key))
+			# expire in 24 hours
+			value = response.json().get("rate")
+			cache.setex(key, value, 24 * 60 * 60)
+		return flt(value)
+	else:
+		exchange = "%s-%s" % (from_currency, to_currency)
+		return flt(frappe.db.get_value("Currency Exchange", exchange, "exchange_rate"))