Expand Your Business with Multi-Currency Selling on Shopify Payments

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Understanding Multi-Currency on Shopify Payments
3. Customer Experience: From Storefront to Checkout
   • Currency Selection and Display
   • Calculating Taxes and Discounts
   • Handling Gift Cards and Shipping Rates
   • Choosing Payment Methods
   • Authorizing and Capturing Payments
4. Merchant Experience: Enabling Multi-Currency
   • Setting up Shopify Payments
   • Enabling and Disabling Currencies
   • Understanding Rounding Rules
   • Managing Orders and Refunds
   • Updating Product Prices
5. API Changes for Multi-Currency Support
   • Liquid Drops for Theme Designers
   • Handling Currency Selection in JavaScript
   • Updating Product and Order API Calls
   • Using Webhooks for Multi-Currency Orders
6. Testing and Rollout Timeline
7. Discussing Future Features and Possibilities
8. Conclusion

Selling in Multiple Currencies with Shopify Payments

In today’s global marketplace, selling products or services internationally can significantly expand a business's customer base and revenue. However, accommodating multiple currencies can be a complex and time-consuming task for merchants. To address this challenge, Shopify has introduced a new feature called "Multi-Currency for Shopify Payments." This feature enables merchants to offer local currencies to customers, simplifying the checkout process and improving the overall shopping experience.

Introduction

In this article, we will explore the world of multi-currency selling on Shopify and how merchants can leverage this feature to expand their businesses. We will delve into the customer experience from storefront to checkout, examining how currencies are displayed, taxes and discounts are calculated, and payment methods are chosen. Additionally, we will explore the merchant experience, including how to enable multi-currency, manage orders and refunds, and update product prices.

Understanding Multi-Currency on Shopify Payments

Before diving into the customer and merchant experiences, let's gain a better understanding of how multi-currency works on Shopify Payments. Multi-Currency for Shopify Payments is exclusively available for merchants using Shopify Payments. It allows buyers to complete their entire checkout experience in their preferred local currency, rather than the store's default currency. The feature supports nine currencies, initially, and will expand to more currencies in the future.

Customer Experience: From Storefront to Checkout

One of the key aspects of multi-currency selling is providing a seamless and intuitive experience for customers. From the moment they arrive at the storefront to the final checkout, it is essential to create a consistent and user-friendly environment. Let's explore the customer journey in detail.

Currency Selection and Display

When a customer visits a Shopify store, their location is automatically detected, and prices are displayed in their local currency. The store's theme can incorporate a currency selector, allowing customers to switch between different currencies. The displayed prices are calculated based on the current exchange rates and rounded to ensure they are customer-friendly.

Calculating Taxes and Discounts

During the checkout process, taxes and discounts are calculated based on the selected currency. For example, if a customer applies a discount code, the discounted price will be converted to the appropriate currency. The same applies to taxes, which are calculated based on the customer's location and converted to their chosen currency.

Handling Gift Cards and Shipping Rates

Gift cards can be used in multiple currencies, with the value automatically converted during checkout. Shipping rates, on the other hand, are displayed in the store's default currency. It is important for apps and integrations that provide shipping rates to calculate and display them accurately based on the chosen currency.

Choosing Payment Methods

When customers proceed to the payment step, they can choose from various payment methods. Shopify Payments, the default payment provider, supports multi-currency transactions. If customers opt for an alternate payment gateway, the price and currency information is displayed explicitly before finalizing the payment.

Authorizing and Capturing Payments

For transactions processed through Shopify Payments, the authorization and capture process is handled seamlessly in the selected currency. However, if an alternate payment method is chosen, the price is displayed in the store's default currency to ensure consistency throughout the checkout experience.

Merchant Experience: Enabling Multi-Currency

Enabling multi-currency for a Shopify store requires some initial setup and configuration. Once enabled, merchants can offer customers the convenience of purchasing in their preferred currency. Let's explore the steps involved in enabling multi-currency and managing the merchant experience.

Setting up Shopify Payments

To start offering multi-currency, merchants need to ensure they have Shopify Payments set up in their store. This involves completing the account setup, including adding a bank account for payouts. Once this is done, merchants can access the payment providers settings and enable the desired currencies.

Enabling and Disabling Currencies

In the payment provider settings, merchants can choose which currencies to enable for their store. They can enable all nine supported currencies or select specific ones based on their target markets and customers' preferences. Merchants can also disable currencies at any time if needed.

Understanding Rounding Rules

Shopify uses rounding rules to ensure that pricing in different currencies remains customer-friendly. By default, Shopify has preset rounding rules for each currency. However, merchants can customize these rules or choose to round up or down to the nearest dollar, euro, or appropriate increment. It is essential to consider the pricing strategies for each currency and ensure they align with customer expectations.

Managing Orders and Refunds

With multi-currency enabled, orders placed in different currencies are categorized accordingly. In the merchant's order overview, multi-currency orders are indicated, making it easy to identify them. Merchants can view the order details in either the customer's selected currency or the shop's default currency. Refunds and capture transactions should include the respective currency to ensure accuracy and consistency.

Updating Product Prices

Merchants can update their product prices using Shopify's product and product variants API. Prices are entered in the shop's default currency and converted to other currencies automatically. To keep prices in sync with storefront experiences, it is recommended to use the product API rather than reverse-engineering exchange rates.

API Changes for Multi-Currency Support

For developers and app creators, multi-currency support brings some changes to Shopify's APIs. It is crucial to understand and incorporate these changes to ensure compatibility and optimal integration. Let's explore the API changes and how they affect different aspects of multi-currency selling.

Liquid Drops for Theme Designers

Liquid drops are a valuable resource for theme designers to access currency-related variables. New Liquid drops provide information about the current currency and all enabled currencies for the shop. Designers can utilize these drops to create customized currency selectors and display prices correctly in the theme.

Handling Currency Selection in JavaScript

Developers can use JavaScript to handle currency selection and submission. By utilizing the new Shopify currency object and currency form, developers can update the currency dynamically and ensure a smooth currency-changing experience for customers. It is also possible to override geolocation and set the currency based on specific URLs or parameters.

Updating Product and Order API Calls

Several API resources, including products, orders, refunds, transactions, customers, and the shop, have undergone modifications to support multi-currency. New fields, such as presentment currency and total price sets, provide access to essential currency-related information. Developers should familiarize themselves with these changes and adapt their API calls accordingly.

Using Webhooks for Multi-Currency Orders

Webhooks have also been updated to align with multi-currency transactions. Developers can now receive additional information about presentment currencies, making it easier to handle pricing, discounts, and taxes accurately. It is crucial to ensure that any integrations or apps relying on webhooks are updated to support multi-currency properly.

Testing and Rollout Timeline

Shopify has released all the necessary APIs for developers to start implementing multi-currency support on development stores. This allows developers to test and make the necessary changes to their apps and integrations. The official rollout of multi-currency for Shopify Plus merchants is scheduled for mid-December, after the busy Black Friday and Cyber Monday period. Shopify plans to expand multi-currency support to other Shopify plans in the future.

Discussing Future Features and Possibilities

While the current release of multi-currency support is an excellent step forward, Shopify continues to explore additional features and enhancements. One of the most requested features is the ability for merchants to set specific prices in different currencies rather than relying solely on automatic conversions. While no official timeline is available, Shopify is actively listening to feedback and evaluating possibilities for future updates.

Conclusion

Selling in multiple currencies with Shopify Payments offers a significant advantage for merchants looking to tap into international markets. It simplifies the checkout experience for customers and streamlines the back-end processes for merchants. By following the guidelines and utilizing the updated APIs, developers and app creators can seamlessly integrate multi-currency support into their solutions. With Shopify's commitment to continuous improvement, the future of multi-currency selling on Shopify looks promising.

Highlights

• Introducing "Multi-Currency for Shopify Payments" for seamless international transactions
• Simplifying the customer experience with currency selection and display options
• Calculating taxes, discounts, and shipping rates based on the chosen currency
• Enabling multi-currency and managing currencies for Shopify Payments
• Updating product prices and capturing payments in various currencies
• API changes for theme designers, JavaScript handling, and webhooks
• Testing and rollout timeline for Shopify Plus merchants
• Exploring future features like setting specific prices in different currencies
• Enhancing reporting and analytics for multi-currency selling on Shopify

FAQ

Q: Can merchants set specific prices in different currencies?\ A: Currently, automatic conversions are applied based on the shop currency. However, Shopify is exploring the possibility of allowing merchants to specify prices for different currencies in the future.

Q: Will multi-currency support be available for all countries?\ A: Yes. Multi-currency support is not limited to specific countries. However, availability may vary based on Shopify Payments country support.

Q: How does multi-currency impact taxes and pricing display?\ A: Taxes and prices can be calculated and displayed based on the customer's chosen currency. However, it is essential to configure pricing settings and tax rules on the backend to ensure accurate calculations.

Q: Are all Shopify themes compatible with multi-currency?\ A: Currently, the debut theme has been updated to support multi-currency. Additional theme updates may be released in the future. Theme developers can reference the updated code in the debut theme as a starting point.

Q: Can multi-currency be integrated with alternate payment gateways like PayPal?\ A: While Shopify Payments is the primary payment provider for multi-currency support, future integrations with other payment gateways, including PayPal, are being explored.

Q: Will reporting show sales and metrics in multiple currencies?\ A: The majority of reporting remains in the shop currency to provide a unified view of a merchant's business. However, additional reports focusing on currency-specific metrics may be introduced in the future.

Q: How should developers handle currency selection and submission in JavaScript?\ A: Developers can utilize the new Shopify currency object and currency form to handle currency selection dynamically. This allows for smooth currency-changing experiences for customers.