How to Set Up Shopify Multi-Currency?

Tutorial
Sep 22, 2025
10
Anna Pham
how-to-set-up-shopify-multi-currency

As eCommerce expands globally, selling in multiple currencies has shifted from being a luxury to a necessity. Shoppers want to see prices in their local currency and check out without hidden fees or conversion surprises. Shopify’s built-in multi-currency feature makes this possible, ensuring smoother international transactions and better customer experiences. By setting up Shopify Payments and enabling currency options, you can build trust, boost conversions, and expand your store’s global reach.

In this article, we’ll explore Shopify Multi-Currency in detail—its benefits, setup process, and how to optimize it for your business.

What is Shopify Multi-Currency? How Does It Work?

Shopify Multi-Currency is a feature that allows merchants to sell products in multiple currencies directly from their Shopify store. When enabled through Shopify Payments, it automatically detects a customer’s location and displays product prices in their local currency. For example, a visitor from Canada will see CAD, while someone from the UK will see GBP.

The system uses real-time exchange rates provided by Shopify to ensure accuracy, and store owners can also adjust rounding rules to keep prices consistent and professional-looking. Customers can browse, add to cart, and checkout in their preferred currency. This not only reduces confusion but also increases trust and confidence during the buying process.

In short, Shopify Multi-Currency bridges the gap between global reach and local shopping convenience, helping merchants streamline operations while delivering a seamless buying experience.

Benefits of Using Multi-Currency Shopify in 2025

1. Enhances Customer Experience

In 2025, customers expect personalized shopping experiences, and currency localization is a key part of that. By displaying prices in a shopper’s local currency, you remove unnecessary mental conversions. This eliminates confusion, improves transparency, and makes international buyers feel valued.

2. Potential for Increased Sales and Customer Retention

When customers can pay in their own currency, they are more likely to complete their purchase. Currency familiarity reduces hesitation, cart abandonment, and refund risks due to unexpected charges. As global eCommerce competition rises, offering multi-currency can set you apart and improve customer retention.

3. Simplified Global Operations

Shopify Multi-Currency automates exchange rates, conversions, and checkout processes. This means merchants don’t need to manually manage pricing across regions. It also integrates with reporting tools, so you can track sales per currency and market trends more effectively.

In 2025, as global online shopping continues to grow, Shopify Multi-Currency isn’t just a convenience—it’s a competitive advantage. It enables businesses to tap into international markets confidently and scale faster while keeping operations simple.

Is Shopify Payments For You?

Shopify Payments is the gateway to enabling multi-currency. It’s Shopify’s own payment processor, designed to handle transactions smoothly while integrating seamlessly with your store.

If you want to use Shopify Multi-Currency, you must use Shopify Payments. Third-party processors like PayPal or Stripe won’t give you the same multi-currency functionality within the checkout process.

Shopify Payments supports multiple countries and currencies, making it ideal for global sellers. It also reduces dependency on external processors, lowering transaction fees in many cases.

However, it may not be available in every region. If your business is in a country where Shopify Payments isn’t supported, you’ll need to consider alternatives or third-party apps to offer localized pricing.

If Shopify Payments is available in your region, it’s worth using. It simplifies setup, allows customers to pay in their preferred currency, and ensures your store runs with fewer integrations and complications.

How to Set Up Shopify Multi-Currency?

Selling internationally on Shopify is no longer just about enabling worldwide shipping. Today’s shoppers expect to browse and check out in their local currency, and Shopify makes this possible with its Multi-Currency feature. To set it up properly, you need to make sure your store meets a few requirements and follow a step-by-step process. Below is a detailed breakdown.

1. Prerequisites

Before enabling Multi-Currency on your Shopify store, check these requirements:

  • Shopify Payments Availability: Multi-Currency only works if you are using Shopify Payments, which is available in many but not all countries. If it’s not supported in your region, you’ll need to explore third-party apps as a workaround.
  • Shopify Plan: You need to be on Shopify Basic or higher. The Starter plan doesn’t support Shopify Payments.
  • Bank Account Information: Since Shopify Payments routes transactions directly to your account, you must have a valid business bank account in a supported currency.
  • Compatible Theme: Most Shopify themes support currency selectors, but if yours doesn’t, you may need to edit your theme or add an app.

Once you’ve confirmed these prerequisites, you can move on to enabling Shopify Payments.

2. Necessary Apps and Integrations

While Shopify includes a simple built-in currency selector, you may want more flexibility, such as automatic currency detection based on a visitor’s location. Here are some useful apps:

  • Geolocation by Shopify (Free)
    • Detects a visitor’s IP address and suggests their local currency.
    • Lets customers manually switch currencies if needed.
  • BEST Currency Converter (Freemium)
    • Offers a customizable dropdown menu with 160+ currencies.
    • Allows store owners to style selectors with flags or text.
  • Auto Currency Switcher (Paid)
    • Automatically changes currency based on customer location.
    • Supports rounding rules for cleaner pricing.

Apps are optional, but they help improve the customer experience and give shoppers more control over how they view prices.

3. Setting Up Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is the foundation of Multi-Currency. To set it up:

  1. In your Shopify Admin, go to Settings > Payments.

  2. Select Shopify Payments.
  3. Enter your business and banking details, including tax information.
  4. Save and activate Shopify Payments.

Once activated, this payment gateway automatically integrates with your checkout system and unlocks Multi-Currency support.

4. Activate Shopify Payments

After Shopify Payments is installed, make sure it’s your primary payment processor. If you still have PayPal or another gateway set as default, Multi-Currency won’t function at checkout.

To check:

  • Navigate to Settings > Payments.
  • Ensure Shopify Payments is marked as “Active.”

From this point, all transactions will be handled through Shopify Payments, and you’ll be able to add multiple currencies.

5. Enable Multi-Currency

Now it’s time to decide which currencies you want to support.

  1. Go to Settings > Payments.
  2. Scroll to the Countries/Regions section.
  3. Click Manage next to Shopify Payments.
  4. Add currencies from the available list (USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, JPY, etc.).

💡 Pro Tip: Focus on currencies where you already see international traffic. Adding too many can clutter your reporting and confuse customers.

Shopify automatically updates exchange rates several times a day. You can also:

  • Enable manual exchange rates if you prefer to set your own.
  • Add rounding rules to keep prices consistent (e.g., always round $19.87 to $19.99).

6. Installing and Customizing Currency Selectors

Even if you’ve enabled multiple currencies, customers still need a way to switch if Shopify doesn’t detect their location correctly. This is where currency selectors come in.

  • Using Built-In Theme Selectors
    • Many Shopify themes (e.g., Dawn, Debut) already include a currency dropdown in the header or footer.
    • You can enable this by editing your theme settings under Online Store > Themes > Customize.

  • Using Apps
    • If your theme doesn’t support selectors, install a currency switcher app such as Geolocation or Auto Currency Switcher.
    • Customize its appearance—dropdown, country flags, or text-only—to match your store branding.

Always test the selector on desktop and mobile to ensure a smooth user experience.

7. Testing Your Setup

Before going live, test your Multi-Currency setup:

  • Visit your store using a VPN or browser location simulator to see how prices display in different countries.
  • Add items to your cart and proceed to checkout—make sure the checkout currency matches the browsing currency.
  • Verify order details in your Shopify Admin > Orders tab to confirm the payment was processed in the correct currency.

8. Ongoing Management

Once Multi-Currency is live, keep these best practices in mind:

  • Monitor Analytics: Track sales by currency to understand where most of your customers are shopping from.
  • Adjust Pricing: Use rounding rules or manual exchange rates if automatic conversions result in awkward prices.
  • Customer Support: Train your support team to answer questions about local currency, refunds, and conversion fees.

How to Change Currency on Shopify?

If you want to change your store’s primary currency, you can do so in your admin settings:

  1. Go to Settings > Store details > Store currency.
  2. Choose the new default currency.
  3. Save changes.

Important: Changing your store currency after making sales can affect reporting, pricing consistency, and historical data. Shopify may lock the primary currency once transactions are processed, so you may need to contact support to make the change.

For customers, you can enable currency selectors or geolocation apps to let them switch currencies themselves, ensuring a flexible shopping experience.

How to Set Up and Use Shopify Multi-Currency Checkout?

Once multi-currency is enabled, checkout will automatically adjust to the shopper’s selected currency. To ensure smooth usage:

  1. Verify Shopify Payments is active.
  2. Enable multiple currencies in Settings > Payments.
  3. Add a visible currency selector to your theme.

During checkout, Shopify automatically charges in the selected currency, displaying prices, shipping fees, and taxes accordingly. This creates a consistent experience from browsing to payment, reducing drop-offs and building trust.

Final Words

Selling internationally requires more than just shipping worldwide—it requires building trust and convenience. Shopify Multi-Currency helps merchants do exactly that by offering customers localized pricing and smooth checkout experiences. Setting it up is straightforward with Shopify Payments, geolocation tools, and custom selectors. Whether you’re expanding globally or already serving multiple regions, implementing multi-currency is an essential step toward scaling your business, boosting sales, and creating loyal international customers.