Tech Solution Lets Tourists Make International Purchases in Local Currency

ATLANTA -- First Data Corp. has teamed up with AJB Software Design Inc. to launch the Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) service.

DCC is a currency and payment service designed to provide U.S. merchants with a way to offer international Visa, MasterCard and branded payment cardholders with the option to execute purchases in their local currency.

According to First Data, tourists who make purchases in the United States can be charged up to seven percent of the total transaction cost in addition to an undisclosed exchange rate. Consumers are also unaware of what the cost of a product will be in their home currency until they receive their credit card payment.

However, DCC allows consumers to pay for products using their own local currency.

"Our organizations remain steadfast and focused on developing and delivering valuable products and services that drive value to both merchants and consumers alike," said T. Michael Black Jr., vice president, International Currency Solutions, First Data. "Partnering with AJB to integrate our global DCC solution into the AJB suite of products is a great example of how our two companies provide innovative solutions to our mutual customers."

First Data and AJB said the DCC service is not only good for consumers, but merchants as well. According to the companies, the DCC conversion process provides merchants with a new revenue stream for every converted transaction by redirecting the revenue earned by the card associations and card issuers from currency conversions margins and fees to merchants.

"DCC provides an important value-added service and ancillary revenue stream for merchant service providers with strong presence in tourist and corporate travel destinations," said David Fish, senior analyst, Mercator Advisory Group. "It can also provide an attractive revenue stream for merchants that serve tourists, potentially offsetting a portion of their overall expense of managing the point of sale and the payment process."