Whether a quote is direct or indirect depends on where you stand. A direct quote puts the home currency in the quote slot: for a Canadian, USD/CAD at 1.3620 is direct, because it prices a foreign unit in domestic money.
The distinction survives from a time when banks quoted retail customers in local terms. It still shows up in textbooks, import and export contracts, and central bank publications, so it helps to recognise it.
In a direct quote, a rising number means the home currency is getting weaker, because each foreign unit costs more of it.
Example: a Canadian importer sees USD/CAD go from 1.3500 to 1.3800. A USD 200,000 invoice that would have cost CAD 270,000 now costs CAD 276,000, an extra CAD 6,000 for the same goods.
Related: indirect-quote, currency-pair-notation, quote-currency, depreciation