One of the most amazing things about cultivating a community as a creator is that you can reach fans all over the world. This means that when fans visit your site to support you, they will want to see prices displayed in their local currency. With Fourthwall, you do not have to worry about FX rates or adapting your margins because we automatically convert your prices to your fans' local currency, so you keep the same profit! If you decide not to enable this feature, you can do so by navigating to your site’s Settings tab in your dashboard and toggling off any currency you do not want to support.
Let’s dig a bit more into how this works.
How does currency conversion work?
When your fan visits your Fourthwall site, it uses geolocation to identify the local currency of that fan’s region. If the local currency is supported, the prices shown will automatically convert to the local currency. The fan will also be able to toggle between currencies. If the local currency is not supported, the prices will be shown in USD.
How are prices converted?
To determine the prices to display in other currencies, we use openexchangerates.org rates for each currency, and we then add a buffer of 2% to protect against potential currency fluctuations. This buffer allows a margin for differences in exchange rates used by payment processors and future refunds as well. We built it this way so that you, as a creator, do not have to worry about currency fluctuations; you always get the same expected profit as you would in USD, and Fourthwall takes the currency exchange rate risk. You can see the formula used to convert prices here:
Product price x (Currency conversion rate + Conversion buffer) = Converted price
$10.00 USD x (0.93773598 + 0.0187) = €9.56
One thing to note is that your profit and all numbers on your dashboard will still be reflected as USD. You will see the order details, profits, and refunds in USD, even though they will be processed in the supporter’s local currency, as applicable.
What currencies are supported?
Your fans will be able to see products in your shop in one of 10 different local currencies: USD, EUR, CAD, GBP, AUD, NZD, SEK, NOK, DKK, and PLN. They can always toggle between them as they wish.
What are the benefits of showing prices in local currency?
Allowing fans to see prices and pay in their local currency makes them feel more familiar as they navigate your site and will boost conversion rates with a better checkout experience.
How to disable multi-currency
You can always disable multi-currency by navigating to your site’s Settings tab in your dashboard to the Multiple currencies section and deselect any currency you do not want to support. If you wish to disable it fully, just deselect all currencies, and it will automatically only show in USD. Please note that USD cannot be disabled since it is Fourthwall's base currency.
Does this impact my profit or payouts?
As mentioned above, your profit and your dashboard will still be shown in USD. When prices are converted, your profit stays the same as it is in USD. Your shop balance will also stay in USD, and as such, your payouts will be processed in USD.
Note: Payouts are processed in USD, but they may be converted by Stripe depending on the country in your Stripe account.
Refunds
There is often a time gap between when a supporter places an order and when a refund is requested/processed. As a result, the currency conversion rate will have changed. This is why the conversion rate has a buffer built into it, as mentioned above. Your supporter will receive a refund in the same currency they paid with.