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      International Payment Processing: Understanding Cross Border Fees and Conversion Costs
      • 13 Mar 2023
      • 2 Minutes to read
      • Print
      Contents

      International Payment Processing: Understanding Cross Border Fees and Conversion Costs

      • Updated on 13 Mar 2023
      • 2 Minutes to read
      • Print
      Article summary

      What are International Payments?

      International payments refer to any payment made by a customer when making a purchase in a different country than their issuing bank. For example, if a US based customer used a US bank issued card when purchasing from a Canadian Merchant, this would be classified as an international payment. 


      Can I accept International Payments?

      Yes! Helcim Merchants are able to accept international payments through the Helcim Card Reader, Virtual Terminal and Helcim Payments App. Customers outside the US or Canada can also process transactions with Helcim Merchants, however, they will only be able to purchase in CAD or USD, not their native currency. 


      International payments often incur additional fees for both merchants and customers. See below to better understand how these fees may be applied.


      Merchant Fees: Cross Border Fee

      Merchants will be charged a cross border fee on international payments. This fee is applied by the card brand networks and is typically around 1%. Below are some links to the different international interchange rates for Visa and Mastercard:

      PLEASE NOTE:
      Card brand and Issuers may recognize US customer purchasing from Canadian merchants as 'International' payments, even if the Canadian merchant is processing in USD. This is because 'International' is determined by the physical location of the Merchant

      Customer Fees 

      International Service Fee 

      For international payments, customers may be charged an ‘International Service Fee’. This can be charged as a separate transaction (customers may see it as a line on their statement) or it may be built into the cost of the transaction (usually between 1-3% on top of the total transaction charge). These fees are not charged by the Merchant or by Helcim but by the customer's bank. If the customer has any questions or concerns about being charged this fee, they should be directed to speak with their bank. 

      Currency Conversion Fee

      Customers may also be charged a currency conversion fee. This will be applied if a customer is purchasing in a different currency to the currency of their card. For US customers purchasing from a Canadian Merchant who is processing in USD currency, the transaction will incur a service fee but not a currency conversion fee. For other international customers, they may incur a conversion fee for purchasing in a different currency i.e. A customer purchasing from France may incur a conversion fee as they will be purchasing in CAD/USD not Euros. 


      Customers may also be charged other fees for international payments. For more information about these fees, they should contact their issuing bank. 

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