which default currency to use

Hi,

Quick question on what default currency to use from a UK based retailer.

We deliver/export items mainly to Europe and the USA, some people say use USD and some say use GBP.

any help most appreciated.

garrie007 wrote:
Credit card debits will be done in primary currency and, if the CC is in another currency a conversion will take place, which might be different to the conversion you are using in the store. Example you have a product for 1.0 GBP and when customer selects to see it in USD it might be shown as 1.49 USD. But when the CC transaction takes place (if the primary currency is GBP) it could be done as 1.50 USD, and your customer will "lose" 0.01 USD in the transaction.

Some CC processors (like banks) are based in just one local currency, so they require you to use that as primary currency. Others as Paypal let you chose a currency (but only one) which will remain as primary currency. If you use another currency different than the one used by the store company, there might be some exchange risks (gains or losses) involved.

So in brief if you want your customers to have certainty of the charges (no variations) use their currency (of most of your customers) as primary currency (USD or Euros are often accepted as a base for international transactions) but then you will assume the exchange risks

Hi Eduardo,

Thank you for the reply and the info,

'So in brief if you want your customers to have certainty of the charges (no variations) use their currency (of most of your customers) as primary currency (USD or Euros are often accepted as a base for international transactions) but then you will assume the exchange risks.'

the exchange risks is the one that i am worried about and why i am a little confused regarding international trading in having either USD or Euros as primary even though my primary currency is GBP sterling.

I think i will look at the historical data for exchange rates and see how much it fluctuates before finally making my mind up which way to go.

Thank you

garrie007 wrote:
Hi Garrie:
From what you said I would advise to set GBP as primary currency. From my experience, in financial market history has not been a good base for predictions. Just as a matter of curiosity check exchange rates fro sept/08 thru the end of 2009.