Multi-currency payment gateways: A better way to accept payments globally

Payment gateways are instrumental in enabling eCommerce businesses to operate and grow. They help businesses get up and running quickly and offer a seamless and secure checkout experience. But when it comes to expanding internationally, most payment gateways come with some costly fine print: foreign currency fees. 

For one-off payments, this might not be a huge issue. But over time, those fees add up, and they can cripple your business before it’s had a chance to lift off.

But first, let’s define what a payment gateway is. Then, we’ll explore how an international payment solution can help your global eCommerce business expand with higher margins.

What is a payment gateway?

A payment gateway is the technology platform that enables you to accept online payments. It’s a secure checkout portal that guides your customers through the steps that allow them to make a payment to your business’ merchant account.

Chances are, you’re already familiar with a payment gateway. It lets your customers add in their credit or debit card details, enabling a smoother, seamless payment experience, and greater efficiencies than a traditional bank transfer.

But here’s the problem: Payment gateway providers typically charge additional fees for payments made in anything other than your base currency.

What is a multi-currency payment gateway?

Like most payment gateways, a multi-currency solution lets you accept payments through a secure online portal. The big, cost-saving difference is that it provides businesses and users with currency flexibility for their global customers.

You can offer checkout in your customers’ home currency or common global currencies, like USD, EUR and GBP.

Effectively, it’s a way to take payments from international customers in their local currency. You’ll find it easier to accept payments worldwide, improving customer experience and growing your customer base.

But be sure to read the fine print…

Confusingly, many platforms that claim to be multi-currency payment gateways don’t actually offer your business this flexibility behind the scenes.

Often, they’ll label themselves as such, purely because they accept lots of international currencies and payment methods. In practice, they force-convert (or auto-convert) the currency back to your native currency, and charge you a transaction fee on the side.

A true multi-currency payment gateway enables you to settle payments in multiple currencies. For example, your British eCommerce store can sell a product in USD, receive payment in USD, and keep the funds in a dedicated USD account. 

So when looking into the best multi-currency payment gateway for your business, be sure to check that the platform offers multi-currency accounts as well as a payment gateway. You don’t want to get caught out.

Importance of multi-currency payment gateways in 2025

Global B2C eCommerce sales have consistently grown year-on-year since 2017, at 14.4% compound annual growth rate. B2B eCommerce shows a similar pattern, just outstripping B2C with compound annual growth of 14.5%. That growth is predicted to continue in 2025 and 2026.

While the rate of growth is impressive, its consistency is even more remarkable. Online retail isn’t a new phenomenon, yet all the data suggests we’re nowhere near the eCommerce peak. The potential remains massive, thanks in no small part to the opportunities in international markets.

Shopify data suggests that 30% of online store visitors are from international markets. Out of all the ways to unlock global revenue, multi-currency pricing is one of the most important changes you can implement.

How does a multi-currency payment gateway work?

Here’s how a multi-currency payment gateway works, in simplified terms.

1. Your customer takes their cart to your checkout page. They get taken to the payment gateway.

2. They’re asked to choose their payment method and currency. They enter their details, confirm the payment, and then everything’s completed on their end.

3. The payment gateway then sends your customer’s card details to your nominated acquirer (typically, your bank but also payment platforms like Airwallex) through a secure gateway. 

4. Your acquirer analyses this information and determines to which payment network their card details belong in order to acquire the funds, i.e. Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, and others.

5. The payment then gets routed back to your customer’s bank or credit card provider (the issuer). These details and payment amounts get authorised (yes, funds are available to make this purchase), with fraud detection procedures occurring to make sure the payment request is legitimate. Once the payment is authorised, both you and your customer should receive notification that the payment is complete.

6. The payment is then settled – and this is where the magic happens. When using a traditional payment gateway, the money will typically go through a forced conversion (usually at your expense) where the sum gets exchanged from its original currency into your receiving currency, often with conversion and settlement fees attached. With a multi-currency payment gateway, where you’re collecting USD into a USD account, you’ll only be charged a settlement fee, no pesky variable conversion fees. The money goes straight through to your nominated bank account and is held in the received currency.

In practice, almost all of this happens beneath the surface. Your customer clicks a few buttons and enters some details. Before they know it, their order is confirmed and their payment is processed. It’s a slick and efficient process.

A simple example

A customer in the USA buys a product from your UK store, with the price listed in USD.

They choose to pay by Apple Pay on your checkout page.

Their USD payment is taken, processed, confirmed, and automatically converted into GBP when received by your bank.

That is, unless you’re using a multi-currency payment gateway that has a local currency account attached. In which case, the USD payment will be deposited into your USD account. What you do with those funds and when is entirely up to you.

The key benefits of a multi-currency payment gateway

It’s more cost-efficient

This is a big plus for businesses dealing with large volumes of international customers. FX fees can eat into your margins at an alarming rate.

Instead, selling in international currencies and receiving the funds in a base currency account saves you that entire cost. You’ll only pay conversion fees when you move the funds to another currency account. With Airwallex, you’ll pay 0.5-1% above the interbank exchange rate (the rate available between banks) to convert your held currencies from account to account.

Using the example above, imagine if you receive a customer payment in USD but you also know you have a big supplier payment to make in USD. If you weren’t using a true multi-currency gateway, you’d have the customer’s USD converted back to GBP, and then you’d have to pay the FX fee to covert it back to USD again to pay the supplier. It’s like the train forcing you to get off after your desired stop and you having to pay another fare to get back!

It speaks your customers’ language

As global retail has grown, so have our choices of payment method. These are deeply rooted in local culture and norms, which merchants can be oblivious to at first.

Take Pix, for example. In Brazil, over three quarters of the population use this instant payment app. It was built by the Central Bank of Brazil and is unique to the country.

A multi-currency payment gateway is made even more powerful if it can accept multiple payment methods. Airwallex supports over 160 payment methods.

It suits your whole supply chain

In the UK’s top five manufacturing sectors, between 26% and 36% of production involves foreign markets. Many companies that do business internationally are one link in a wider global supply chain.

Handling cross-border payments in multiple currencies gives you the freedom to pay suppliers and vendors locally. Say you’re selling to French customers. If one of your manufacturers is also based in France, you can keep your EUR funds in a dedicated account and pay them directly without ever having to exchange the currency.

• It’s clearer and easier for your customer to make their purchase.

• It’s easier and cheaper for you to process the payment.

• It’s easier and cheaper for you to pay suppliers.

• It’s easier and cheaper for your suppliers to get paid.

It provides security on multiple levels

Payment processing is a high-risk activity. To offer a successful payment gateway, a company needs to have the highest level of security possible. The technology behind your gateway is incredibly secure, which is a reassurance to both you and your customers.

There’s also a financial security beyond pure protection of funds. Funds that are settled in your multiple currency accounts can be a hedge against exchange rate fluctuations. You aren’t forced into exchanging at whatever the rate is on the date of receipt. You can hold funds back until a better time arrives.

The markets are changeable and sometimes chaotic. When dealing with multiple currencies, flexibility is one of the greatest securities you can ask for.

The challenges in multi-currency payment processing

Identifying hidden or variable costs

You’ll always have to pay a processing fee, no matter which payment gateway you choose. These fees cover your gateway provider’s operational costs and contribute to their profits.

Beyond processing fees, there are other costs that you might face. These vary between providers, with some not charging any and others becoming quite costly. You should check whether you’ll be charged:

• Gateway fees: Usually per attempted or actual transaction

• Setup fees: An initial charge for getting your account established

• Monthly fees: A monthly charge for using the service, unrelated to your usage

• Chargeback and refund fees: These vary a lot between providers, with some providers using percentage fees and others flat fees.

• PCI DSS fees: Some providers will charge a fee to cover the cost of their security measures for your payments.

• Refund fees: per refund request. 

• Termination fees: If you’re tied into a contract, you might be charged an exit or termination fee if you decide to leave your gateway provider.

At Airwallex, we list out all our fees.

Operational complexity

Managing international payments, currencies, and accounts can be time- and admin-intensive.

Ideally, your gateway provider will integrate with your accounting software - like Airwallex does. This way, all of your payments and balances will be reported in one place, removing the need for manual reconciliation and management.

Changing currency/exchange rates

If your payment gateway is converting each payment on the spot, your margins will be under threat.

Commercial currency exchange rates can be expensive and you’ll be exposed to market fluctuations. If your busiest day of international sales coincides with a dip in currency values, you could lose a significant percentage of your revenue thanks to nothing more than bad timing.

This is mitigated by the use of local currency accounts alongside your gateway. If you can settle and hold your international payments in local currency accounts, you can exchange them as and when required (or when the FX rates are most in your favour).

What to look for in a multi-currency payment gateway

When shopping around for the best multi-currency payment gateway for your business, there are a few key features that you need to look out for.

Multiple currencies

It should be a given, but a multi-currency gateway is no good if it doesn’t offer the currency options you need. Be sure to check the full list of currency options before signing up with any platform.

Multi-currency settlement

Make sure you’re not only able to accept foreign currencies, but settle and withdraw in those currencies too – without sneaky conversion fees.

Multiple billing methods

Give your customers and suppliers more options to pay you. A good multi-currency payment gateway will be able to support multiple billing models, such as recurring payments, shopping platform integrations, and invoicing using payment links.

Fraud protection

Make sure your gateway is secure with built-in fraud protection and authentication tools, such as the 3DS fraud engine. This helps to reduce chargebacks and increase the acceptance rate of payments.

Flexible integration

You want your payment gateway to reduce your workload and get you up and running faster. So make sure it offers flexible integration with your existing payment platforms. Things like low-code options to integrate into your website, or hosted payment pages at the click of a button. 

Pricing and fees

There are typically two pricing models associated with multi-currency payment gateways: interchange++ and blended pricing.

Interchange++

Interchange++ is a type of pricing commonly used in North America and Europe. Under this model, the fees associated with processing the payment are separated into three parts: the interchange fee, the scheme fee, and the acquirer fee.

• The interchange fee goes directly to the bank that issues the payment card. In the UK and EU, interchange fees are capped at 0.2% for debit cards and 0.3% for credit cards.

• The scheme fee goes to the card provider. These vary depending between domestic and international transactions, transaction size, and the card provider itself.

• The acquirer fee goes to the payment service provider. This varies between providers and can scale up or down depending on transaction volumes and values.

Blended pricing

Blended pricing is a simplified version of interchange++ pricing, where all the associated fees and processing are merged into one simple fee. This usually takes the form of a percentage fee, plus a small set dollar fee per transaction.

For example, with Airwallex, payments made by UK cards cost 1.3% plus a 0.20 GBP transaction fee.

The blended pricing model means you get a better idea of what fees you’re likely to pay each transaction, as it’s not reliant on individual bank or card pricing models.

How much do multi-currency payments cost?

Using Airwallex’s pricing as an example, a US customer using Amex to buy your product for $30 would cost you 0.72 USD (2.4%) + 0.20 GBP. You’d receive the funds in your USD account and pay no FX fees.

If you used a payment gateway that forced currency conversion on the spot, you’d pay similar transaction and processing fees, plus the exchange rate on the day and their commercial conversion fees. These can often be between 1 and 3%, so another 0.30 - 0.90 USD.

A note on forced currency conversions

When using a standard payment gateway, you may also be required to pay fees on forced currency conversions when settling funds in the available currency. They typically incur an additional percentage fee on top of your payment gateway provider’s fees.

And that’s not all: you’re also being exposed to your bank’s poor FX rate. This is usually hidden, so you may not know what you’re paying on top of the actual conversion rate.

These forced conversions may seem part and parcel of international transactions – but they don’t have to be.

How Airwallex provides a better multi-currency payment gateway solution

We’ve mentioned Airwallex a few times already, so let’s introduce our offer properly.

We provide the all-in-one financial platform for international businesses. We can manage all of your international payments via our multi-currency gateway. Then, we can help you exchange and spend those funds at great rates from your Global Accounts.

You can turn the complexity of managing multiple international currencies, accounts, and payouts into a simple, streamlined process.

Airwallex integrates with the biggest platforms in eCommerce and accounting, so you can maintain a central source of truth for all your finances. Plus, our team is here to help you maximise your systems and processes, so you can make and keep more of your money.

Answering your multi-currency payment gateway FAQs

How do I integrate a multi-currency payment gateway into my website?

There are several ways to integrate a payment gateway into your website. Most providers will offer options including:

• Hosted checkout page: In which your checkout page is hosted by the gateway provider, with customers directed to it seamlessly in your checkout process.

• Plugins: For websites built on eCommerce platforms, you can get plugins or apps that add your gateway without any further development work.

• APIs and SDKs: If you want to, you can use developer kits to integrate a payment gateway into your website with custom code and API calls.

There’s an option for everyone, no matter how much time or expertise you have available.

Can customers see prices in their local currency at checkout?

Yes - and on your website directly. Usually, customers are asked to select their currency of choice and prices on the website are updated into that currency.

Other options are to have international versions of your website, so that the prices load in the local currency automatically. (e.g. a .com.au TLD for your Australian site).

What happens if there’s an issue or refund with a multi-currency transaction?

Your gateway provider should have a clear process outlined for how you process refunds and their responsibilities when you face a dispute.

With Airwallex, a like-for-like refund is processed in the same currency. Say if a customer pays in EUR and you settle it in EUR, they’ll get EUR back from your EUR balance.

A refund for a non like-for-like currency payment will be refunded in the customer’s original currency from your settled currency account. In practice, this means if a customer paid you in EUR and you converted it to GBP, they’ll get EUR refunded and it’ll be taken from your GBP balance.

Payment service providers usually have a tariff of refund and chargeback fees.