Moneris Multi-Currency Pricing (MCP) – Common questions

Merchants who have expanded or migrated their business online have good reason to be optimistic. According to the Global Ecommerce 2019 eMarketer Report, global ecommerce sales are expected to reach 4.9 trillion USD dollars by 2021, more than double the amount for 2017.  The ShopifyPlus Global Ecommerce Report revealed that 92% of customers prefer to shop on sites that show pricing in their local currency, with 33% of online foreign shoppers likely to abandon a purchase if pricing is only in CAD dollars. Considering that almost half of shoppers are not comfortable paying in a foreign currency, an online merchant needs to consider more ways to localize the shopping experience for customers if they want to maximize their sales.

Moneris has partnered with CIBC to launch Multi-Currency Pricing (MCP), a robust multi-currency solution that allows merchants to display pricing in customers’ local currency.  This assures customers that the amount they see when completing a purchase is the amount they will see on their bill. Here are some answers to common questions about adding multi-currency pricing to an ecommerce solution.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I determine if someone browsing on my website is a MCP candidate?

The best option is to implement a geo-location API. These APIs are generally straight forward to develop and many options are available online. Geo-location should be supplemented with a dropdown on the customer UI to give shoppers the option to change currencies. For example a EURO cardholder may be browsing from New York.

Do I have to retrieve a foreign exchange rate to process an MCP transaction?

No, if you prefer you can display set pricing for foreign currencies and simply call the MCP Purchase API with that amount. The response will tell you how much money in Canadian dollars (CAD) you will receive based on the best available rate at the time of the transaction.

Will using MCP change the settlement process for the merchant?

No, MCP has been built so that your settlement remains unchanged. You will still receive CAD for transactions completed in a foreign currency.

How should I display foreign prices on my website?

We recommend using the appropriate currency symbol or code for each currency, for example, € for Euros, £ for British Pounds, USD for US Dollars. This is optional but presents a more complete and satisfying user experience.

Is MCP available for all credit cards, and how would this impact my UI?

MCP is available for Mastercard and Visa only.  For customers paying with a foreign currency card, you should only present Visa and MasterCard as checkout options with MCP.

Who provides the foreign exchange (FX) rates for MCP?

Moneris has partnered with CIBC as the FX provider for the MCP solution. They source the wholesale bank market rate (not available to the general public) for each currency to set the MCP rates. This ensures that the most up-to-date and transparent rate is used for each and every MCP transaction, increasing overall customer experience.

How often should I refresh the FX rates on my website?

This depends on your business model and website traffic. You can retrieve a rate for each individual shopper on your website. However, if you have a lot of traffic on your website, it makes more sense to retrieve rates for all currencies every 45 minutes, for example, and update your catalogue.

What happens if I do not update FX rates on my website?

Rates are valid for a predetermined time frame that will be part of your “getRate” response.  If you attempt to process a transaction when the rate has expired, the transaction will be rejected.

What if rates update while a customer is in the middle of browsing or checking out?

The best practice is to inform customers of how long a rate is valid. Some merchants use a countdown timer to remind shoppers while they continue to browse.

How much foreign volume should I process in order to use MCP?

Even if you don’t ship internationally, you may be surprised to find out how many foreign cardholders have processed transactions on your website. Moneris can provide this information upon request.  Whether you process small or large volumes internationally, the user experience enhancements MCP offers makes this a valuable add-on to your website. It will reduce cart abandonment, chargebacks, and refunds from foreign cardholders. Most importantly, it may help to increase your international sales.

Can I see foreign currency amounts on Moneris’ Merchant Direct portal?

Yes, Merchant Direct shows both the CAD amount and the foreign currency amount. Settlement files will have the foreign currency information appended to the final columns.

Can I refund the cardholder the foreign amount they paid originally along with ensuring I receive the same CAD amount for the refund?

The refund on an MCP transaction is intended to make the customer “whole,” which means the customer will receive the full amount they originally paid in their local currency. The Canadian dollar amount you originally received in settlement will fluctuate due to FX changes at the time of the refund.  You may pay back more or less than originally received. If you pay back more, you will retain the revenue share amount from the original transaction to offset this.

What is a currency exponent and how does it impact me?

Currency exponents indicate how many minor units a currency has, in other words, how many places there are after the decimal point, or the comma. The vast majority of currencies have an exponent of two (for example, USD and CAD), but some have 0 (such as Japanese Yen) and others have three (such as some Middle Eastern currencies). This is controlled by the International Organization for Standardization and rarely changes, but you should be aware of this. If you set up exponents incorrectly, you could charge a customer more or less in foreign currency than expected, potentially impacting whether the customer completes the transaction and/or the settlement amount you receive.

Is MCP available on Moneris Hosted Pay Page?

No, however it will be available in our new Moneris Checkout solution. For more information on availability please e-mail mcp@moneris.com.

I am using a third-party solution or plug-in.  Can I use the MCP solution?

Yes, your third party solution/plugin provider can integrate the Moneris MCP API into their solution to make its benefits available to you and your international customers. Let them know you would like to implement the Moneris MCP API.