Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
With online merchants in the U.S. increasingly seeking business overseas, TransFirst Inc. is adopting automated currency-conversion technology from E4X Inc. Dallas-based TransFirst, which processes card transactions for 160,000 merchants?including an increasing number of card-not-present merchants?will offer automated currency conversion to its clients as part of its processing service. E4X says its product allows the display of final prices to customers in home currencies and cuts out risk stemming from currency fluctuations by offering a guaranteed exchange rate. The company, whose software is used by 100,000 Web sites, says automated currency conversion boosts sales. Its customers who sell digital goods, for example, have averaged an increase of 162% in foreign sales in the first year after installing the product. Retailers of physical goods, the New York-based company says, average a 172% jump. In its typical configuration, E4X's product works this way: The merchant's server links to the E4X server to get updated exchange rates as frequently as specified by the merchant. Card transactions are processed in the customer's home currency. E4X reconciles currency data received from the merchant with settlement data from the merchant's acquirer. The acquirer settles the transaction with E4X with funds in the local currency. E4X converts the funds to the merchant's preferred currency. Founded in 1999, E4X has previously reached agreements with other processors, including Paymentech L.P. and CyberSource Corp.
