What’s the difference between Multi-Currency Conversion (MCC) and Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC)?
DCC vs MCC: with Multi-Currency Conversion (MCC), prices are shown in the cardholder’s currency and the conversion happens behind the scenes; with Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC), the cardholder chooses at the point of sale whether to pay in their own currency or yours. Either way you are funded in your depositing bank’s currency, and a merchant account can have one or the other, not both.
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Both are options on your payment terminal or gateway for taking payments from cardholders whose card is in another currency. In the table, “card present” means the card is at your terminal, and “keyed” means the card number is typed in by hand.
How do MCC and DCC compare?
| Multi-Currency Conversion (MCC) | Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Currencies | Support for over 90 currencies | Available in 66 currencies |
| Transaction types | Available for ecommerce / manually keyed transactions | Available for card present and keyed transactions |
| Who chooses the currency | Prices displayed in cardholder’s currency; cardholder pays in their local currency | Cardholder has the option to pay in their local currency or merchant’s currency |
| When conversion happens | Conversion occurs behind the scene | Conversion occurs at point of sale |
| How you are funded | Merchant is funded in their depositing bank’s currency | Merchant is funded in their depositing bank’s currency |
| Exchange-rate risk | Onus on the merchant to understand currency exchange rates between foreign (cardholder) currency and home currency rates | No currency exchange risk for the merchant |
How does Multi-Currency Conversion (MCC) work?
- Transaction authorizes and settles in cardholder’s currency
- Prices converted back to USD/CAD (depending on deposit currency of merchant account) for funding to merchant
- In Converge automatically assigned top 5 currencies (USD – US Dollar, CAD – Canadian Dollar, GBP – Pound Sterling, AUD – Australian Dollar, EUR – Euro, and JPY – Japanese Yen). Merchant can add or remove currencies from currency field setting.
Benefits:
- Cardholder not involved in conversion
- Cardholder transparency on final cost of purchase
How does Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) work?
- Prompts cardholder with option to pay in their home currency or merchant’s currency at the point of sale.
- Transaction amount converted from merchant’s currency to cardholder’s currency and displayed on the spot
- If accepted, transaction authorizes in cardholder’s currency based on converted amount.
Benefits:
- Fewer chargebacks – cardholder aware of conversion
- Transparency to cardholder of rates and fees
- Better rates than money exchange places
What else should I know before choosing?
Notes:
- MCC and DCC are only available for Visa and Mastercard transactions
- Some 3rd party gateways (i.e. Authorize.Net) do not support MCC/DCC. A separate gateway account for each currency (i.e. CAD and USD) is required.
- A merchant account cannot support both (i.e. you can either have MCC or DCC on the account but not both)
- Some card issuers charge cardholders a fee for making a purchase at a business outside the issuing card’s country, regardless of currency being the same. For example, a US cardholder purchasing from a Canadian company that has a USD merchant account and charges in USD.
Common questions
Can I have both MCC and DCC on one merchant account?
No. A merchant account can have MCC or DCC, but not both.
Which one should I use for online sales?
MCC is available for ecommerce and manually keyed transactions. DCC is for card-present and keyed transactions. For help choosing, contact Cartis Payments at 1-888-712-0770 or support@cartispayments.com.
Does it work with Amex or Discover?
No. MCC and DCC are only available for Visa and Mastercard transactions.
Updated November 2, 2026
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