Accept international payments
You can handle international payments in few different ways. This article explains how to make the most of the features available.
Your default currency
Your default currency is chosen when your account is set up and can't be changed later.
We currently support USD, EUR, GBP and AUD.
Denominated currency
The denominated currency is the currency in which a payment is displayed within White Fuse. Your default currency is used on:
- reports
- donations
- events, and
- (unless other currencies are specified) membership plans.
If you have an international audience, your contacts' home currencies may differ from the currency in which fees are denominated.
For example, your membership plans may all be in your default currency of GBP but a contact from the the United States is likely to have a bank account in USD.
Denominating fees in alternative currencies
You can choose to denominate membership plans in any of our supported currencies. Promoting plans in alternative currencies can make them more attractive and allows you to offer additional payment options.
- Go to Settings > Membership plans.
- Edit an existing plan or select Create new membership plan.
- Set up the plan use the Currency field to choose an appropriate currency.
- The fee for this plan will be charged in the selected currency.
Events tickets can only be denominated in your default currency.
Choosing the right payment methods
We support two payment processors but they handle international payments differently. Where you have an international audience you should carefully consider the most appropriate payment method for each situation.
Stripe (card)
We use Stripe to take card payments. In general this is the most robust payment method for international payments. Using this method the person making the payment does not need a bank account in the denominated currency. The person paying will rely on their card provider to convert the denominated currency into their home currency. A list of accepted home currencies can be found here.
GoCardless (Direct Debit)
We use GoCardless to take Direct Debit payments. Direct Debit payments have lower fees and lower failure rates but a limitation of this payment method is that the person or organisation must have a bank account in the same currency as your denominated currency. For this reason if you have international contacts and you wish to take membership payments by Direct Debit then you may have to set up a range of plans for them, each in a different currency. The contact can then choose to subscribe to a plan where the denominated currency matches their bank account currency.