It's very common for Canadian businesses to sell online in US dollars. However, many Canadian business owners do not realize that it's easy to receive your deposits from credit card sales in USD without having to convert it into Canadian dollars.
If you sell to customers outside of your country then you are doing international sales. This type of transaction, where the payment is across borders, incur extra fees from Visa and Mastercard. In this video David explains the criteria that determine if a transaction is cross border or not, and how much those fees are likely to be. (As well as touch on the topic of processing and settlement currencies).
You may have noticed a lot of declined transactions when selling to international customers. In this video we explain why international (cross border) e-commerce transactions get declined, and what you can do to minimize it.
If your business transacts across borders, how do you ensure that you've optimized your payments solution? Our CEO David Goodale sets out to demystify the most complex area of payments: multi-currency and cross-border e-commerce payments. This is a detailed exploration of everything to know about multi-currency payment processing.
Businesses can save a lot of money by routing their credit card transactions intelligently. This technique is called 'interchange optimization'. If you process a high volume of credit card transactions to customers located in different countries the cost savings can be very significant. In this discussion David explains the concept of interchange optimization and how it works.
Some card issuing banks have a fee that causes problems for online businesses when selling to international customers. We are talking about the extra international transaction fees that some card issuing banks charge to their cardholders. In these cases customers may complain if their credit card was charged more money than they expected.
Is it possible to bill a US customer in Canadian dollars?
(Slightly edited from video transcript for greater readability)
Key Takeaways
1
You can bill a foregin customer in your local currency
The banks handle the exchange rate.
2
A canadian merchant can charge in US dollars
You just need a US dollar merchant account.
Need help with this topic? Or a rate quote?
Whether its questions about this article, or you want to see how we can lower your costs. Don't hesitate to contact us.
Hello David here at Merchant-Accounts.ca. This is just a super quick video. I am often asked by Canadian customers when they're selling into the US or the rest of the world, like what do I need to do? Like can I bill, can I bill a US customer in Canadian dollars?
Multi-Currency
Yes, you can absolutely bill a US customer in Canadian dollars. When you take your credit card and you go on vacation in Florida or wherever you go and you use your credit card at a Starbucks in the US it just works. The card issuer always takes care of the exchange rate. You don't even need to think about it. That's how short this video can be. If you are ever charging a foreign customer, let's say normally you send your invoices in Canadian dollars, just send them as normal. They will work just fine. You will get the exact amount you're expecting. The customer's card issuing bank will take care of any currency conversion. Now, with that said, you might for example, want to charge in US dollars. If you want to charge customers in US dollars, it is easy to do. You need a US currency merchant account.
In that case, you would issue the invoice in US dollars. You the customer's card would get charged directly in US dollars, which is nice for the customer because that way they know exactly how much they will get charged. as a merchant, it's advantageous for you because you'll get paid in US dollars. I meant to make a very simple video that did not confuse this topic at all. I don't know if I succeeded, but you can charge a credit card in any currency and as a Canadian merchant, by default your merchant account will be in Canadian dollars. But it is very easy to get a US currency merchant account. If you need one, contact us at Merchant-Accounts.ca. It will allow you to charge cards directly in US dollars. We also can help customers charge in other currencies like pound, sterling or Euros, but that's beyond the scope of what's necessary for most merchants.
Conclusion
Most of the time you simply need to issue your invoices normal. Your customer will pay what their card as normal and it will just work and the card issue will will take care of the exchange rate. if you don't want that to happen, then get a multi-currency merchant account by reaching out to us at Merchant-Accounts.ca. I sat down to do like a really simple video and I don't know if I did a good job or a terrible job. Leave it in the comments and if I confused anyone I will rerecord this. But with that, thanks for watching and have a nice day. Bye now.
It's very common for Canadian businesses to sell online in US dollars. However, many Canadian business owners do not realize that it's easy to receive your deposits from credit card sales in USD without having to convert it into Canadian dollars.
If you sell to customers outside of your country then you are doing international sales. This type of transaction, where the payment is across borders, incur extra fees from Visa and Mastercard. In this video David explains the criteria that determine if a transaction is cross border or not, and how much those fees are likely to be. (As well as touch on the topic of processing and settlement currencies).
You may have noticed a lot of declined transactions when selling to international customers. In this video we explain why international (cross border) e-commerce transactions get declined, and what you can do to minimize it.
If your business transacts across borders, how do you ensure that you've optimized your payments solution? Our CEO David Goodale sets out to demystify the most complex area of payments: multi-currency and cross-border e-commerce payments. This is a detailed exploration of everything to know about multi-currency payment processing.
Businesses can save a lot of money by routing their credit card transactions intelligently. This technique is called 'interchange optimization'. If you process a high volume of credit card transactions to customers located in different countries the cost savings can be very significant. In this discussion David explains the concept of interchange optimization and how it works.
Some card issuing banks have a fee that causes problems for online businesses when selling to international customers. We are talking about the extra international transaction fees that some card issuing banks charge to their cardholders. In these cases customers may complain if their credit card was charged more money than they expected.
Need professional guidance? Contact us for a free one hour consultation.
Can I Help Lower Your Processing Fees?
If you found this content helpful, will you give me the opportunity to quote on your business?
My name is David Goodale, CEO at Merchant Accounts.ca. I launched our business in 2001 and have over 20 years of expertise in the field of online payments. If you have a payments related question or project, and especially if it relates to multi-currency or international e-commerce don't hesitate to contact me. I'm always happy to help with an honest opinion, and enjoy chatting with folks from interesting businesses.
