Online Business: Multi-Currency Payment Processing Case Study
09 August 2023
Written by Libby James
Libby James is the founder and Managing Director of Merchant Advice Service. Since 2016, she has worked directly with businesses and payment providers across merchant accounts, card processing, payment gateways and complex provider requirements.
Libby specialises in high-risk, declined and harder-to-place merchants, as well as businesses requiring specialist payment methods, integrations or international support. She writes and reviews Merchant Advice Service content, drawing on practical experience gained from real merchant enquiries and provider relationships.
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Case study summary
A UK online business contacted Merchant Advice Service because it needed a payment-processing setup capable of accepting customer card payments in both pounds sterling and euros.
The requirement went beyond simply finding an ecommerce payment provider. The business needed to identify a provider and payment-gateway route capable of supporting its multi-currency requirements.
Merchant Advice Service reviewed the requirement and helped the client identify a provider capable of supporting euro credit-card payments alongside its UK payment activity.
The business
The client was a UK-based online business taking card payments from customers.
Its payment requirements included transactions in both GBP and euros.
This meant the business needed to consider more than standard domestic card processing. Its provider and gateway setup also needed to accommodate its international and multi-currency payment requirements.
The problem
The business needed a way to accept euro credit-card payments from customers alongside its existing UK payment requirements.
For an online business, accepting another currency can involve several separate decisions.
Depending on the merchant and provider, these can include:
- which currencies customers can pay in
- which currencies the merchant can settle in
- payment-gateway currency support
- acquiring arrangements
- cross-border payment requirements
- currency-conversion arrangements
- international-card charges
- the countries in which customers are based.
The client's immediate requirement was clear: it needed a provider capable of supporting euro card payments for its online business.
What Merchant Advice Service identified
Merchant Advice Service reviewed payment-provider and gateway options against the client's multi-currency requirements.
The aim was to identify a payment route that could accommodate the way the business needed to accept payments rather than selecting a provider solely on a headline transaction rate.
Relevant considerations included:
- online card acceptance
- GBP payment requirements
- euro payment requirements
- payment-gateway capability
- international transactions
- provider suitability for the business
- the overall payment setup required by the merchant.
The provider route
Merchant Advice Service helped the business identify a payment provider capable of supporting euro credit-card payments from its customers.
The provider remained responsible for its own underwriting, pricing, technical requirements, settlement arrangements and final merchant-account decision.
MAS's role was to understand the requirement and help the business identify a potentially relevant provider route.
Why multi-currency payment requirements matter
Accepting cards issued overseas and allowing a customer to pay in another currency are not necessarily the same requirement.
An online business considering international payments may need to establish:
- which currencies it wants to display to customers
- which currencies the payment gateway can process
- which currencies the acquiring arrangement supports
- which currency or currencies the business wants to receive in settlement
- whether currency conversion will take place
- how international and cross-border charges are structured.
These requirements should ideally be understood before comparing payment providers.
Businesses researching these issues can read the Merchant Advice Service guide to foreign currency and multi-currency merchant accounts.
Payment gateway requirements
For an ecommerce business, multi-currency processing may also depend on the capabilities of the payment gateway.
Relevant requirements can include:
- supported currencies
- checkout configuration
- acquirer compatibility
- ecommerce-platform integration
- recurring-payment functionality where required
- reporting and reconciliation
- international customer support.
A provider may therefore appear commercially suitable but still be inappropriate if the gateway or underlying payment infrastructure cannot support the currencies and customer journey required by the business.
See the Merchant Advice Service Payment Gateway guides for more information about gateway selection and technical payment requirements.
The outcome
The client was able to identify a provider for its euro credit-card payment requirement.
The customer's subsequent feedback specifically highlighted the speed of the response and MAS's help in finding an appropriate provider.
Customer feedback
The client provided feedback following its experience with Merchant Advice Service:
“Very quick to respond and helped us find a provider for euro credit card payments from customers. First-class service.”
The feedback provides a clear example of MAS helping an online business with a specific international payment requirement.
Merchant Advice Service view
This case demonstrates why “international payments” should be broken down into the actual requirements of the business.
A merchant may say that it needs international payments, but that could mean several different things:
- accepting cards issued outside the UK
- allowing customers to pay in their local currency
- accepting one or more specific foreign currencies
- settling funds in a foreign currency
- operating merchant accounts in different markets
- supporting international ecommerce growth.
Those requirements can lead to very different payment-provider and gateway options.
For this client, the key requirement was specific: the ability to accept euro credit-card payments from customers.
Identifying that requirement clearly made it possible to focus the provider search on payment arrangements capable of supporting it.
What this case demonstrates
- Currency requirements should be defined early. Businesses should establish which currencies customers need to pay in and which currencies they want to receive.
- Gateway capability matters. The payment technology needs to support the required currency and ecommerce journey.
- International payments are not one product. Acquiring, currencies, settlement and gateway functionality can all form part of the requirement.
- Provider selection should follow the business requirement. Understanding the payment flow first can make it easier to identify potentially relevant providers.
- Price is only one factor. Currency capability, settlement, technical compatibility and international support can be just as important as transaction pricing.
Multi-currency payments for online businesses
Businesses selling internationally may need payment arrangements capable of supporting different currencies, countries, payment methods and settlement requirements.
The appropriate setup depends on the individual merchant and the markets in which it operates.
Further information is available in the Foreign Currency Merchant Account guide.
Online businesses can also read Ecommerce Payment Providers UK for wider guidance on gateways, acquiring and ecommerce provider selection.
Comparing international payment providers
Businesses comparing providers for international or multi-currency payments may need to assess currencies, settlement, gateway compatibility, transaction pricing, cross-border costs, integrations and provider acceptance criteria together.
Read Compare UK Payment Providers for more information about the MAS approach to provider comparison.
About Merchant Advice Service
Merchant Advice Service is an independent UK business-to-business payments information, comparison and provider-matching service founded by Libby James in 2016.
MAS helps businesses understand their payment requirements and identify payment providers or specialist partners that may be relevant to the way they operate.
Its areas of payments coverage include merchant accounts, payment gateways, ecommerce payments, payment-provider selection, switching providers, integrated payments, international and multi-currency acquiring, recurring payments, merchant finance and more complex payment requirements.
Merchant Advice Service is not an acquiring bank or payment processor and does not make final merchant-account underwriting decisions.
The MAS information, matching and introduction service is free to businesses. MAS may receive commission or a referral fee from some commercial partners where an introduction results in a completed product or account.
Read How Merchant Advice Service Works for more information about provider matching and the MAS commercial model.
