Dynamic Currency Conversion

In this guide, you'll learn how to obtain the relevant currency and exchange rate, present the option to the customer, and process the authorization with 3D Secure 2 (3DS2) authentication (if applicable).

To start, we need to check if the card is available for DCC and what the current exchange rate is.

If the card is not eligible for DCC or the card currency is the same as your base currency, you will receive a "105" as response code. In this case, proceed with a standard Authorization without DCC details.

Sample request

Now that we have the card currency, exchange rate, and amount, we can present the option to the customer. For this example, the card currency is Swedish Krona (SEK) and our base currency is Euro (EUR). The example below shows how the HPP presents this choice to the customer.

DCC Choice Example

A requirement of 3DS is that the amount and currency authenticated should match the amount and currency authorized. Therefore, where DCC is used, you must ensure to authenticate the customer with the correct currency. The 3D Secure implementation flow you use depends on the customer’s actions:

• If the customer was offered DCC and did not accept, or was not offered DCC, follow the Initiate Authentication flow for 3D Secure.
• If the customer was offered and accepted DCC, follow the Authentication with DCC and Authorization with DCC flows for Dynamic Currency Conversion.

Step 4: Send the authorization with DCC details
Once the customer makes their decision, you can send the authorization along with the DCC information. In our example, the customer chose to pay in the currency of their card. You can populate the converted amount, rate, and currency into the request.

Markup transparency rules

In April 2020, the European Union introduced new rules governing the transparency of a merchant markup on currency conversions for certain currencies in the European Economic Area (EEA). These currencies include: EUR, BGN, HRK, DKK, HUF, PLN, CZK, RON, and SEK. For merchants utilizing DCC, the EEA rules mean that if the exchange rate offered to the customer has a markup that makes the amount above the European Central Bank (ECB) exchange rate, this percentage rate must be displayed to the consumer.

When the customer is presented with the choice to pay in the currency of their card or the merchant’s base currency, the markup amount should be displayed to them. If the exchange rate offered is the same or less than the ECB rate, the markup should be displayed as 0%.

The value of the rate field returned in the Rate Lookup response will be the rate provided by the merchant or a third-party Currency Conversion Processor (CCP), inclusive of their markup. The value of the margin percentage field will reflect the markup rate of the merchant or CCP in relation to the current ECB rate.

HPP example

Either the merchant or CCP provides the interbank exchange rate available at the time of transaction and displays it to the customer. This way, the customer knows the exchange rate before they complete the payment. They can then choose whether to continue with the conversion or pay in the merchant’s base currency.

When the customer is presented with the choice to pay in the currency of their card or the merchant’s base currency, the markup percentage and commission applied will be displayed to them. This can alleviate any concerns customers may have about any subsequent processing for foreign-exchange conversion.

In this example on our Hosted Payment Page (HPP), the base currency is British pound sterling (GPB) and the card currency is Hong Kong Dollar (HKD).

DCC Section with Compliance Information

For the detailed API specification and a full list of features, see the API Reference section.