Selling Internationally
- Already on Stripe, Shopify Payments, or PayPal? Check your account's supported cards, countries and currencies before promising checkout will work
- Use the provider examples below to budget. There's no single cross-border rate
- Test local prices on your biggest country. Choose checkout and payout currencies separately, then check conversion costs
- Add local payment methods when customer requests or checkout data give you a reason to test
- A duty charge is disputed? Match the collector and payment state before promising a credit
If you're on Stripe, Shopify Payments, or PayPal, start with the account you already have. Check its international fees and supported currencies. For your first few orders, compare the actual payout with what you charged.
5 min readWhat Happens When a Foreign Card Pays You
On Stripe, the currency you charge and the currency you receive are separate settings. If they differ, Stripe converts the payment to your settlement currency. Check those settings before quoting the customer. VENDOR Stripe currencies.
This is called cross-border processing. Shopify Payments defines a cross-border card fee by where the card was issued relative to your store. A foreign card doesn't by itself mean your processor converts currency. VENDOR Shopify fees.
The customer's bank may charge them a foreign transaction or exchange fee. That's their bank's fee, not yours. Charging their local currency doesn't rule it out. VENDOR Stripe currencies.
What It Costs
International transactions can cost more. Here's a US Stripe standard online-card example, using prices opened 22 October 2026. Assume a $100 sale, with Stripe converting the international payment into USD. No optional services or manually entered card fee. VENDOR Stripe US pricing.
| Fee Component | Domestic, charged in USD | International card, with conversion | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Card processing | 2.9% + $0.30 | 4.4% + $0.30 | +1.5 percentage points |
| Currency conversion | None | +1% | +1 percentage point |
| Total per $100 sale | $3.20 | $5.70 | +$2.50 |
DERIVED The international total adds Stripe's published domestic rate, international-card surcharge and conversion fee. Without Stripe currency conversion, this example costs $4.70 instead. These are calculated examples, not a quote for your account.
PayPal's US commercial-transaction schedule adds 1.50% to its domestic receiving fee for international transactions. PayPal also publishes a separate currency-conversion spread when it converts. Its international definition uses the sender's and receiver's markets. VENDOR PayPal US merchant fees, updated 1 October 2026, opened 22 October 2026.
If you're on interchange-plus, ask for a quote that separates interchange, network charges, processor markup and any currency conversion. Compare the total for the same card and currency route.
DERIVED Worked example: apply the table's extra 2.5% to $5,000 a month in international sales that all need conversion. That's $125 extra compared with the domestic example. Your mix of cards and currencies changes the calculation.
Check your margin before turning down the order. Count the payment cost alongside shipping, tax and returns.
Exact fees vary by processor. Check their international or cross-border pricing page for your rates. Some bundle the FX markup into one rate. Others break it out.
Do I Need to Show Local Prices?
It depends on where buyers drop out and what the setup costs.
First few orders: Start with the checkout you have. Check how the currency is shown and what the buyer will be charged.
Repeat business from one country: Consider local prices. Stripe supports charging and settling in different currencies. Check the conversion costs before changing the checkout. VENDOR Stripe currencies.
A/B test it on your biggest country. Compare completed orders and margin after fees and refunds, not just the number who reach checkout. Believe your own checkout data over anyone's case study.
Keep or expand it: Use the test result and ongoing costs to decide. A revenue band alone doesn't tell you whether the work pays off.
DCC offers to charge the customer in their home currency. Visa's public guidance says to show both currency amounts, the exchange rate and any extra fees or markup. The customer must have a choice; the merchant mustn't choose for them. NETWORK Visa DCC guidance, opened 22 October 2026. My advice: leave it off unless you can explain the price and choice clearly. A local-currency price test doesn't need a promised DCC saving.
What About Taxes and Duties?
Tax compliance for international sales is its own guide. Here's the high-level version:
- EU VAT: For a US business with no EU establishment selling taxable electronic services to consumers, the customer's member state is the VAT location. The EUR 10,000 intra-EU threshold isn't an exemption for that US seller. EUROPEAN COMMISSION OSS guidance, rules from 1 July 2021
- UK VAT: A business outside the UK supplying taxable digital services directly to UK consumers must register for UK VAT. Check separately if a marketplace accounts for the VAT. HMRC Digital-services guidance, post-transition rules from 1 January 2021
- Canada GST/HST: For non-resident digital-product or service sellers outside the normal GST/HST regime and not carrying on business in Canada, registration generally applies above CAD 30,000 of applicable revenue in any 12 months. Registered-platform sales have exclusions. CRA Check the threshold and scope, rules from 1 July 2021
- Customs duties: A physical shipment may attract duties and import taxes on arrival. Check whether you're collecting an estimate at checkout or leaving charges for delivery. VENDOR Shopify duties guidance
Before taking orders: check your platform's international tax settings. Shopify can calculate taxes, but filing and remittance aren't automatic merely because you use Shopify. Its tax guide separates calculation from configured automated filing. VENDOR Shopify tax responsibilities.
If the route's unclear: talk to an accountant who knows international e-commerce, or check a tax service like Avalara or TaxJar. Ask who registers, collects, files and remits for your exact product and destination.
A duty or tariff charge is disputed
Start with the receipt and who collected the charge. Check the payment state before you promise a credit. A carrier bill needs a different contact from your checkout surcharge.
Match each amount to its own record:
- Itemized order and checkout receipt
- Carrier or broker invoice
- Payment ID, amount, currency and current status
- Customs entry and importer of record, if available
- Any refund, credit or dispute already opened
Similar amounts don't prove they're the same charge. Keep customs duty, shipping and your own surcharge separate. If you collected the amount, find your payment record. If the carrier collected it, ask for its invoice reference.
For IEEPA duty refunds, CBP uses CAPE within ACE. Only the entry's importer of record or its authorized filing broker can submit the declaration. That customs process doesn't decide what you owe a customer. Ask your filing broker about this entry's eligibility and status.
Check your accepted checkout terms and itemized receipt together. They should explain which charge you're discussing with the buyer. For a Canadian sale into the US, get entry-specific advice before changing your pricing. This isn't a current tariff-rate guide or a guarantee against disputes.
Ask the broker and payment provider separate questions:
Who's the importer of record for entry [ID]? Who collected each amount, and what's the entry's current refund status?
Payment [ID] shows [status]. Is a credit or dispute already open? Which supported response applies to this payment state?
Then tell the buyer what you've confirmed:
I'll match this amount to our records. I'll confirm who collected it, then explain the payment status.
A refund request belongs in the refund playbook. A bank dispute starts with the notice. Check refund states before choosing a payment action.
Scale Callout
| Your setup | What to do |
|---|---|
| You buy labels and answer customers | Match the disputed amount to its collector and receipt |
| A broker or team handles imports | Assign entry questions to the broker and name one customer contact |
Where This Breaks
An entry may qualify for customs recovery without settling your customer's claim. Your contract and the charge's collector still need checking. Keep an unconfirmed entitlement out of your reply to the buyer.
Test to Run
Use sample records for a merchant charge and a carrier bill. Include an open dispute and an already-issued credit in the walkthrough. Trace each amount before anyone proposes another payment action. Record who must answer each unresolved question before you reply.
Country-Specific Gotchas
Five markets to check, not a sales ranking. Start by confirming your provider's card and currency support. Stripe's support table separates card brands, account countries and customer countries. VENDOR Stripe card support, opened 22 October 2026.
| Country | Watch out for |
|---|---|
| Canada | Check CAD settings and GST/HST scope. PAD rules concern bank debits; recurring card charges aren't PADs. Payments Canada |
| UK | Check SCA/3DS requirements and exemptions with your provider; see the FCA's SCA guidance |
| EU (Germany, France, etc.) | Check SCA scope and exemptions for your payment route. Stripe documents iDEAL / Wero for the Netherlands and Bancontact for Belgium, with account and currency limits |
| Australia | For non-resident sales of imported services or digital products to Australian consumers, ATO gives an A$75,000 annual registration turnover threshold. Check the scope, rules from 1 July 2017 |
| Mexico | Stripe documents OXXO cash vouchers. Check account availability and payment confirmation before fulfillment |
Sources for the checks above: PAYMENTS CANADA FCA ATO VENDOR Stripe method guides, all opened 22 October 2026. These are support examples, not a ranking of what your customers prefer.
Compare each country's authorization results with your own domestic results. Check decline reasons and authentication outcomes before blaming 3DS. Read SCA and first-time 3DS setup with your provider. A retry isn't a promised approval.
Scale Callout
Use this as a decision aid, not a set of revenue cutoffs:
First few international orders: Check the fees, payout and tax route. Resolve any checkout problems before adding more setup.
Repeat orders from one country: Test local currency pricing. Compare completed orders and margin after fees and refunds.
Customers asking for another way to pay: Check support and test a local method for that market. Read Going Global for the full strategy.
Cross-border costs or declines need attention: Ask for a local-acquiring comparison. Include setup, account and ongoing costs. Confirm entity and bank-account requirements for that provider and country. See the Launch New Country playbook.
Where This Breaks
Cross-border results need a closer look when you see these problems:
- Auth rates below your own comparable baseline. Check the country, card mix, attempt count and decline reasons before choosing a fix
- Customers asking for payment methods you don't offer. "Do you accept iDEAL?" "Can I pay with Boleto?" Record those requests before choosing a method to test
- FX costs eating your margin on one corridor. Worked example with assumed inputs: $100K/month to the UK at 1-2% in FX fees is $1,000-$2,000 a month. Compare a local-acquiring quote with the full setup and ongoing costs before calling it a saving
- High chargeback rates from one country. Check the reasons behind those chargebacks. Separate fraud claims from delivery, refund and product complaints before changing fraud rules
Hit any of these? Read Going Global, which covers local acquiring, multi-processor strategy, and regional payment methods.
Suggested starting sample: pull your last 30 days of transactions. Segment by country. Calculate the auth rate for each one and compare it to domestic, with attempt counts alongside the rates. Use a longer period if the sample's thin. Inspect decline codes and authentication failures before testing 3DS or currency changes; measure the result rather than assuming a fix.
Next Steps
Sources
| Source | Supports | Opened |
|---|---|---|
| CBP IEEPA duty refunds | Added duty section only: CAPE within ACE and importer or authorized filing-broker submission; individual eligibility needs checking | 21 October 2026 |
| VENDOR Shopify chargebacks and inquiries | Added duty section only: case-specific response and refund/dispute state separation | 21 October 2026 |
| VENDOR Stripe refunds | Added duty section only: check existing refund and dispute state before selecting an action | 21 October 2026 |
| VENDOR Stripe US standard pricing | US online-card rates used as inputs, not an account quote | 22 October 2026 |
| VENDOR PayPal US merchant fees | US commercial receiving surcharge, international definition and conversion spread; updated 1 October 2026 | 22 October 2026 |
| VENDOR Stripe currencies | Presentment versus settlement and possible issuer fees | 22 October 2026 |
| VENDOR Shopify fees and costs | Cross-border card definition and separate conversion mechanics | 22 October 2026 |
| NETWORK Visa DCC consumer guidance | Public guidance on disclosed amounts, rate, fees and customer choice; no claimed typical markup | 22 October 2026 |
| EUROPEAN COMMISSION OSS guidance | B2C electronic-services VAT location and limits on intra-EU threshold; rules from 1 July 2021 | 22 October 2026 |
| HMRC Digital-services VAT | Non-UK seller to UK consumer, including platform distinction; post-transition rules from 1 January 2021 | 22 October 2026 |
| CRA Digital-economy threshold | Scoped non-resident digital supplies, applicable-revenue test and platform exclusions; rules from 1 July 2021 | 22 October 2026 |
| VENDOR Shopify tax responsibilities | Calculation versus filing and remittance | 22 October 2026 |
| VENDOR Shopify duties guidance | Possible arrival charges versus checkout estimates | 22 October 2026 |
| VENDOR Stripe card support | Card-brand, account-country and customer-country support differ | 22 October 2026 |
| FCA SCA guidance | UK authentication scope and exemptions; guidance updated 15 February 2023 | 22 October 2026 |
| ATO Imported services and digital products | Non-resident supplies to Australian consumers and annual registration turnover threshold; rules from 1 July 2017 | 22 October 2026 |
| VENDOR Stripe iDEAL / Wero | Netherlands method and provider support limits | 22 October 2026 |
| VENDOR Stripe Bancontact | Belgian method and provider support limits | 22 October 2026 |
| VENDOR Stripe OXXO | Cash-voucher method and account availability; no preference or card-penetration claim | 22 October 2026 |
| PAYMENTS CANADA PAD consumer guide | PAD bank debits versus recurring credit-card charges | 22 October 2026 |