If you want to take your retail operation to the next level by serving an entirely new and fresh stream of customers, going global may just be the right decision for you. Once you determine the best countries to sell your items in and come up with a marketing plan to attract eager buyers, you’ll still be left with one pressing priority. Perhaps the most important action you must take if you are to succeed in the international marketplace is to accept international currencies.

The benefits of accepting foreign currencies.

At this point, you might be asking why you can’t simply have your international customers pay using their standard credit cards with the charges billed in your own currency. After all, Visa and Mastercard are used in numerous countries. The problem is that if you take this course of action, you run the risk of alienating your potential buyers with unfamiliar monetary denominations. Furthermore, they might be hit with pricing discrepancies that lead to confusion, frustration, and chargebacks that ultimately hurt you and your business.

In fact, there are numerous benefits associated with accepting payments in your customers’ preferred currencies. They include the following.

• Enhanced customer confidence. Buyers are wary of making a purchase when the costs are unclear. Buying from an international seller is a leap of faith, one made even riskier if a customer has to try to estimate the foreign exchange costs and markup fees they will be expected to pay. In addition, your business doesn’t operate in a vacuum and has competitors who are more than happy to bill shoppers in their native currencies. You want to do everything you can to make people feel comfortable about your business and relaxed about entrusting you with their money. Billing in the currency of their choice is one of the most important steps you can take to achieve this goal.
• An easier and less confusing refund process. If the buyer wants their money back and you have billed them in their native currency, they will receive the full amount after you process the return. That is not necessarily the case otherwise.
• Significant savings. When you set up your systems to allow for local currencies, you will not be burdened with high cross-border and foreign exchange fees.

Once you’re able to place more of your financial resources into growing your business and enhancing your international services, you’ll be in a better position to boost your reputation and spread the word about your brand to your new customer base.

Tips for setting up your multi-currency business.

Providing secure payment processing is one of the most important ways to grow your global retail operation. But exactly how do you go about setting up multi-currency payment processing that minimizes customer frustration, reduces chargebacks and returns, and keeps your costs down? The following basic tips should get you started.

• Negotiate the rates for your merchant account. Not all vendors will charge the same costs. Relevant factors that shape their decision include the level of risk your store represents, your business history, and the type and volume of products you sell.
• Prepare to wait days, weeks, or even months after you submit an application before you hear whether you have been approved. Wait times can be especially protracted if your business is young or if you sell products that represent a higher level of risk.
• Take advantage of multi-currency conversion in your ecommerce platform. If you don’t want to initially deal with the technical complexities of a full-fledged multi-currency system, you might consider starting with online invoicing or a virtual terminal. These alternatives let your customer submit their payment or allow you to manually enter it on your smartphone or computer, respectively. That way you can get your feet wet internationally without some of the more challenging technological burdens.
• Set up your website to accept multiple currencies. It can do so by analyzing the location of the  user’s IP address or by giving shoppers a choice of which currency is shown.
• Determine how you will price your products or services. Dynamic pricing involves setting one master price that is automatically adjusted to the current exchange rates of the foreign denominations you accept. By contrast, hard-coded pricing involves setting specific, different costs per item for each currency type.
• Determine your settlement currency. This is the denomination that you will receive your final payments after a transaction has been processed and converted. Unless you are equipped to set up your business in Europe or Asia, choosing one base settlement currency such as American dollars is generally your best bet. Doing so is much less costly and complicated, and you can still bill in almost any currency.
• Make customers aware of potential cross-border fees. You as a merchant are not the only one who might be charged these fees. Your foreign customers may also be required by their own card-issuing bank to fork over a percentage of their item cost. Unfortunately, many buyers assume that it is you, the seller, who is burdening them with these extra costs. This can lead to dissatisfaction, chargebacks, and potential damage to your reputation and brand. In the event of this type of customer complaint, first make sure that you did not accidentally overcharge the customer. Then do your best to educate them about the true source of the fee, and recommend that they contact their bank to see if the charge can be waived or their account switched to one that does not charge these cross-border fees.

Dipping your feet into the global marketplace is an exciting but daunting endeavor. Taking time at the outset to choose the multi-currency platform and international payment gateway that are right for your business will benefit you now and for years to come. To pave the way for your ultimate success with buyers from other nations, devote energy now to accepting their currencies of choice, and you will be richly rewarded.