Multi-currency pricing (MCP) is a method that international companies use to do business using local currencies. This allows them to price goods and services in a variety of foreign currencies, while continuing to receive settlement and reporting in their home currency. With MCP, merchants can sell the same item to British customers in pounds sterling, French and German customers in

Euros The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . T ...

, and Japanese customers in

yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the e ...

. A sales tool that helps merchants expand into other sectors of the

global marketplace Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

, MCP allows cardholders to shop, view prices and pay in the currency of their choice. Currently this feature is available for

Visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

and MasterCard networks only. For example, a Japanese consumer browsing a US-based website with MCP functionality may view prices in US dollars or in Japanese yen. The consumer is then given the option to pay in the currency of his or her choice. If the customer chooses to pay in Yen, this service guarantees that this exact Japanese yen amount will be debited to the cardholder account, and the exact US dollar amount will be credited to the merchant's account. The cardholder is not charged any additional fees for this service. Among the biggest advantages to merchants according to proponents: * Ability to localize websites and expand to other regions * Cater to international customers by pricing in a currency they understand and feel more comfortable with, while continuing to receive settlement and reporting in one currency * Reduces customer service inquiries and

chargebacks A chargeback is a return of money to a payer of a transaction, especially a credit card transaction. Most commonly the payer is a consumer. The chargeback reverses a money transfer from the consumer's bank account, line of credit, or credit ca ...

The MCP solution is mostly found in ''card not present'' (internet, mail-order/telephone-order) environments, but can also be used as a terminal application in ''card present'' (POS) environments.

References

Foreign exchange market {{Money-stub