Multi Currency

Introduction

The Zeald Multi Currency module allows you to display prices and charge customers in multiple currencies. When you purchase the Multi Currency add-on, we add a currency selection box to the header of your website:



By default, the most appropriate currency will be automatically selected for the user, based on where they are located (as determined by their IP Address).  


However, when a different currency is selected, all prices on your website will be displayed in the selected currency.




NOTE:  To see the features and technical specifications of Multi Currency, please visit the Online Store.
 

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Multi Currency Vs Website Replication

If you want a single website to be able to transact in two or more currencies, then the Multi Currency Add-On is a good fit. However in some occasions, it may be better to set up an entirely new website (cloned from an existing site), targeting the country or countries you wish. This is known as Website Replication. For more information on Website Replication contact Zeald support or your e-business consultant.

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Multi Currency Pricing

When the Multi Currency module is enabled on your Zeald website, the way you set prices for individual items changes. 

When you view pricing for an item, you no longer see a box where you type the price in.  


Instead, the following is displayed:



This is because there is no longer a single price for an item.  Instead, multiple prices depending on which currencies are selected will be displayed. If you click on Edit Multi-Currency Pricing the following matrix will show up:



This matrix allows you to set a price for each currency. If you do not wish to set a price, and simply have the price calculated based on the current exchange rate, then leave the price blank and the system will auto-convert the price. In the above example, a specific price has been set up for Australian Dollar (AUD 14.00), but the price for users who have selected US Dollars (USD) will be calculated based on the exchange rate.  

Defining a price for a foreign currency has the advantage that you can specify 'clean' prices, e.g. AUD 14.50- whereas if you let the system convert the prices you end up with prices like AUD 14.32. However the disadvantage is that you must manually make sure that prices are correct as they will not be automatically adjusted for changes in the exchange rate.

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How to Add or Delete a Currency

If you wish to add or remove a currency, you need to do the following:
 

1. Go to Preference > multi-currency.
   
2. To delete a currency, click the  beside the currency you want to delete.  
3. To add a currency, click on .  
4. This window will appear.  You can specify what currency to add to your website. NOTE:  For the currency to work it is vital that you select which country('s) this currency is going to apply to. The system has no way of knowing that you want Australian Dollars to be set to people from Australia, even though this may seem obvious to you. When you are setting this up make sure that for each currency you select the country from the menu on the right.
   
5. Click Fetch Current to get the current exchange rate of the selected currency.  
6. Select Update Rate? if you want the system to check and update the exchange rate of the currency code.  
7. Click Save to add the currency.  

If you wish you can select that only users with a delivery address in selected countries can check out in this currency - this is not recommended to be set in most cases.

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Receiving Funds - Foreign Currencies

You need to decide how you want your currency to enter your bank account to determine which bank should provide your Electronic Merchant Account.  There are two methods to achieve this.

1) Accept any currency into your bank account and have it converted from the original currency to one set currency e.g. NZ dollars.

Most banks provide this service, but you should confirm this with your bank.

2) Accept  currency into your bank account in the actual currency of the transaction eg: Euros into the bank account as Euros

While less common, sometimes this is important e.g. a company selling items in NZ and UK, can accept UK pounds and save on currency conversion costs and spend the UK pounds on marketing the products in the UK.   A BNZ multi currency account is one of the only providers of this service in NZ at the time this was published. (You should always check with your bank.)

Once you have decided on what type of account you want, you can then determine your payment gateway (we suggest DPS) to link it all up.

Check with your bank

Before you turn on Multi-Currency it is advisable to check that you can actually receive funds in all the currencies listed on your website. Not all bank accounts support receiving funds in any currencies other than your default currency (e.g. NZD for a New Zealand Bank account)

If you cannot receive all currencies you list on your website, you need to configure your website to convert funds into your home currency before checkout.  

To make this configuration go to the Preferences tab of your website admin area and click the blue Multicurrency link.  Then set Accept Settlement in a Foreign Currency to No



Prices will still be displayed in the currency of the user's choice, but on the checkout page you will need to include a message advising them the transaction will not be transacted in their native currency, it will be converted into your home currency first. 

 
Check with your payment gateway(s)

Some payment gateways also have some preference and setting options that you either have to set right in order to receive the money or can change to the setting that you would prefer. For example Paypal's Multiple Currencies default setting will accept all transaction but will hold all transactions that you don't have a balance for in that currency. You would need to approve each transaction. However you can go into your Paypal account and set your Payment Receiving Preferences. Please note there might be additional charges from your payment gateway provider for your prefered options.

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Purchase the Multi Currency Add-On

The Multi Currency Add-On can be purchased from the Zeald online store:
http://store.zeald.com/shop/sales/Multiple+Currency+Support.html
 

Common Problems

 

• If you find lots of orders are coming through from other countries in the wrong currency, the first thing you should check is that each of your currencies is mapped to a country. You can do this by going to Preferences - Multi Currency - Shipping Editor and opening a currency. You have to select a country for each currency you have setup - see the screenshot above which shows the Edit Currency screen.

 

• If you're getting a zero in the total order amount, make sure you have set up a delivery method for orders outside of New Zealand.