Accept foreign-card payments with DCC

Some foreign-card payments may offer Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). When DCC is offered, the customer can choose whether to pay in the converted amount shown for their card’s home currency or in South African rand (ZAR).

What DCC means

DCC stands for Dynamic Currency Conversion. When a customer pays with a card issued in a foreign currency, DCC can give them the option to pay in their own currency instead of South African rand. For example, a customer using a US card may choose between USD and ZAR. The exchange rate and margin are calculated when the card is presented and shown on screen before the customer confirms the payment.

You don't need to enable or disable DCC. It appears automatically when it is available for the foreign card and payment.

What the customer sees

1. Card received: after the customer taps or inserts the card, the card machine first shows the sale total in rand.

2. Currency selection: the customer sees the home-currency amount, the equivalent ZAR amount, the exchange rate and the margin. Hand the card machine to the customer so they can choose.

3. PIN entry: let the customer enter their PIN when prompted. The machine may ask them to select a currency after PIN entry, so hand it back if needed.

4. Transaction result: after a successful payment, the machine shows the rand amount. The receipt shows the currency the customer chose.

Show the customer both displayed amounts and let them choose the currency for the payment. DCC transactions can look different from a normal card payment, so make sure anyone taking payments knows to hand the card machine to the customer at the currency-choice and PIN steps.

After a successful payment

Your payout remains in rand. Use the receipt options shown on the card machine if the customer wants a receipt.

If the currency choice times out

The customer has 90 seconds to choose a currency. If they don't choose one in time, the card machine shows Transaction timed out and the transaction is not completed.

Select Try again and hand the card machine back to the customer to choose a currency, or select Cancel to stop and start again. If you start a new transaction, the converted amount may be slightly different because exchange rates are recalculated each time a card is presented.

If DCC is not offered

DCC only appears when it is available for that payment. If the currency-choice screen doesn't appear, continue with the card payment in rand.

Questions about a DCC transaction

If you have questions about a DCC transaction, contact iKhokha Support on 087 222 7000 or support@ikhokha.com.

To complete the payment, see Take a card payment.