Managing international payments in different currencies

When Internet integrated into our daily life and business, borders have literally vanished from our minds. Almost every business can operate an international product, offering their services to many people. In gaming industry, it's hard to find a website that operates in just one country — many operators strive to enter the international market.

At the same time, while physical borders are not felt online, they are very noticeable in financial transactions. Sending and receiving international payments for online casinos can be a challenging task, as it involves dealing with dozens of different currencies. Players from Poland will prefer to make deposits in zloty, those from Kenya in Kenyan shillings, and only a few will choose the US dollar as an international currency. Why is this? It's quite simple. Users look for what is familiar and close to them, and gaming operator is to provide such an option.

And from there it can become a difficult task. As studying habits and preferences of many nations and integrating them all into one website, while ensuring its convenience for everyone, is not that easy. How and why should you do it? Let's explore this today.

Advantages of multi-currency payments

A business present in several countries will inevitably need to decide: should I offer payment options in different currencies? This function has several undeniable advantages:

• Faster payments: International payments via SWIFT system can take several days, and settlement from an international payment system even several weeks. By using local payment systems, you can increase the speed of money transfers from your clients to you and vice versa. In iGaming, fast payout service to users is especially important, so local routes are the best for this. Payments within a country usually arrive in minutes or are instant, which is ideal for a growing business in gambling industry. Players can't wait, and that's exactly what they won't have to do if you connect a local payment gateway in their home country.
• Improved user experience: This point should be placed first, as every product strives to provide the best user experience with its functions. This qualitatively affects user retention and acquisition, allowing you to earn more and grow a loyal audience. The presence of familiar payment methods in the currency of player's country is 50% of success and will undoubtedly make the best impression.
• Reduced costs: Using internal payment networks allows you to reduce the cost of each payment, as international transfers are always more expensive than local. By choosing the right payment provider for an online casino, you can optimize your costs instead of increasing them. Although multiple accounts in payment systems often lead to expenses, you can avoid this by connecting only necessary and beneficial options for your business.

Considering all these advantages, multi-currency transactions for gambling also carry several risks that can make you wanting to get rid of multi-currency and switch to a unified currency, such as the US dollar or EUR. Among such risks are constant fluctuations in currency rates, which cannot be accurately predicted and tracked. Especially when working with exotic markets, you can strongly feel the instability of local currencies literally every minute and every day. This can lead to significant losses if you do not exchange funds fast into a strong working currency.

Additionally, supporting multi-currency payment gateways involves costs and need for specialized personnel who can effectively manage the system and keep it operational. Additional fees may arise due to accounts in many payment systems, such as maintenance costs for these accounts, setup fees, and monthly fees. Often, the more accounts you have in payment systems, the more fees expenses fall on your shoulders.

But if everything is so bad, why do most international companies still offer their users option to pay in local currency? This is where the advantages we discussed earlier come into play. Because despite the risks and potential costs, benefits are significantly greater, and if you learn to manage the process correctly, you can achieve a profitable structure.

How to set up effective multi-currency payments

We have already determined that multi-currency is necessary and important in international business. To make it effective and profitable, we recommend several implementations:

• Risk management: Determine which specific risks will be present in your case. These may include currency risk, i.e., losses on currency exchange rates. To minimize this, you need to calculate all your expenses and move funds in a timely manner. Additionally, there is the risk of provider instability, so you need to ensure backup options. Depending on the country where you operate, the risks may vary. For example, in India, there is a high risk of fraud from providers and players. But the key is to identify these risks in advance and think about how you will protect yourself from them.
• Process optimization: In addition to connecting multiple payment systems and monitoring their operability 24/7, their operation should be optimal for your needs. Divide providers by fee structure, payment approval ratios, terms of cooperation, and create a structure that will provide your business with everything that’s necessary.
• Payment planning: A payment calendar is a standard tool for CFO in any field, and it has several advantages, such as ability to budget and predict expenses. It is much easier to cover expenses if business is prepared for them, rather than constantly calculating on unexpected costs. Planning financial operations will help you understand opportunities to reduce expenses.
• Fees and exchange loss planning: When operating in multiple countries and maintaining a company in one international jurisdiction, you may have a range of expenses and income from different sources. Accordingly, it is worth modeling the situation of your financial flows in advance and determining how to move funds between your accounts most effectively to save on fees and expenses. For example, if you receive settlements from payment system once a week, but you do not need funds on the operational account, and need them in this wallet for user payments, discuss changing this schedule to another period. This way, you can avoid unnecessary transactions, fees, and money movements. Why withdraw funds from the account only to replenish it the next day? Similarly, you should plan exchange operations and their volume. This will allow you to conduct transactions not chaotically, but systematically.

Efficiency, in case of payments, is creating a structure that will give the maximum result while keeping minimal costs. If you implement all the mechanisms we described above, you will be more likely to achieve this result. However, keep in mind that market is dynamic, and all strategies should be adjusted to current market situation. Relying on a constantly identical plan is only possible under conditions of high stability, which many countries lack being gambling markets.

By properly routing payments and choosing payment providers in each of the currencies you need, you can save on fees, more effectively retain players through fast payouts, increase payment approval ratio, and user satisfaction. Sounds too good to be true? Let's discuss this in a consultation with a Monoup expert.