DCC is the conversion of the purchase price of goods or services from the currency in which the purchase price is displayed in another currency. DCC (conversion of the merchant currency to the cardholder currency) occurs at the point of sale.
Multi-currency is where the merchant supports multiple currencies for good or services yet receives payment from Elavon in a different currency regardless of the cardholder currency. The conversion of the currencies is completed behind the scenes.
DCC and Multi-Currency are mutually exclusive. One merchant number cannot support both. Separate merchant numbers would need to be set up, one for DCC and one for Multi-Currency.
A Multi-Currency transaction is authorized for the amount of the sale in the local currency whereas a DCC transaction is authorized in the cardholder’s currency based on a converted amount from the local currency.
In addition to the basic transaction information, the below additional fields are optional for Multi-Currency transactions: If they are populated they must align with the transaction amount and transaction currency code.
- Cardholder Amount located in the TAB record positions 294-306
- Cardholder Currency Code located in the TAB record positions 307-309
In addition to the basic transaction information, the below additional fields are required for DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion) transactions:
- Cardholder Amount located in the TAB record positions 294-306
- Cardholder Currency Code located in the TAB record positions 307-309
- Conversion Rate located in the TAB record positions 310-317
- Dynamic Currency Conversion Exponent located in the TAB record position 381
An example of a multi-currency transaction where the cardholder is a US cardholder traveling to Rome on holiday. The cardholder purchases some gifts while in Rome at a local store. The purchase amount is 56 €. The cardholder presents their Visa card and pays 56 €. When the merchant creates the EGSF settlement file they will populate all the basic information for the transaction and will populate the amount fields as indicated below:
- Transaction amount – 0000000005600
- Cardholder Amount – 0000000005600
- Cardholder Currency Code will be 978
- Transaction Currency Code will be 978
- Settlement Currency will be 840
In the above example the cardholder will be charged 56 € and the merchant will be paid $64.11 in US Dollars from Elavon.
An example of a DCC transaction where the cardholder is a US cardholder traveling to Paris on holiday. The cardholder purchases some drinks and snacks at the airport. When paying for their purchase they use their Visa card and are prompted at the point of sale asking which currency they would like to pay in – US Dollars or Euros. The transaction amount is 13.33 Euro converting to $15 US dollars. The cardholder selects US Dollars. When the merchant creates the EGSF settlement file they will populate all the basic transaction information and will populate the amount fields as such:
- Transaction amount – 0000000001333
- Cardholder Amount – 0000000001500
- Cardholder Currency Code will be 840
- Transaction Currency Code will be 978
In the above example the cardholder will be charged $15.00 US Dollars and the merchant will be paid 13.33 Euros from Elavon.