Can I Change Currency in Shopify?

Base Currency vs. Display Currencies: What's the Difference?

Your base currency is the default currency tied to your Shopify store. It controls how prices appear in your admin panel, how payouts land in your bank account, and how all financial reports are calculated. Every product price you enter in the admin is in your base currency.

Display currencies (also called selling currencies) are the currencies your international customers see when they browse and check out. These are managed through Shopify Markets. A store with a USD base currency can show EUR to European visitors and GBP to UK visitors, but behind the scenes, Shopify converts everything back to USD for your payouts and reports.

The distinction matters because you can add as many display currencies as you want at any time, but changing the base currency has restrictions and side effects that are harder to undo.

Shopify Markets vs. the Old Currency Approach

If you set up multi-currency before 2022, you probably used the old method: go to Settings > Payments, scroll to the Shopify Payments section, and enable currencies there. That interface is gone. Shopify replaced it with Shopify Markets, and the two systems work very differently.

Under the old system, you enabled individual currencies one by one and there was no concept of a "market." You could accept GBP, EUR, and AUD, but you couldn't set different prices, shipping rules, or tax configurations for each currency. Every international customer got the same experience except for the currency symbol.

Shopify Markets treats each region as its own context. A market can have its own currency, its own pricing (including fixed prices that override the exchange rate calculation), its own tax rules, its own language, and even its own domain or subdomain. Currencies are now a property of a market, not a standalone setting.

What this means practically:

• Old approach: Enable GBP in Payments settings. All products show in GBP using the daily rate. No way to set a fixed GBP price or add a UK-specific surcharge.
• New approach (Markets): Create a UK market. Assign GBP. Optionally set fixed prices per product, add a +8% adjustment for fulfillment costs, configure UK VAT separately, and assign a uk.yourdomain.com subdomain if needed.

If you're still seeing the old currency interface in your admin, your store is likely on a plan or setup that hasn't been migrated. Upgrading to any current Shopify plan will give you access to Markets.

How to Change Your Store's Base Currency

Your base currency is set when you first create your Shopify store. Whether you can change it depends on your order history.

If you haven't made any sales yet:

1. Go to Settings > Store details in your Shopify admin.
2. Scroll to the Store currency section.
3. Select your new base currency from the dropdown.
4. Click Save.

If you've already made sales: your base currency is locked in the admin. You have two options. First, contact Shopify Support and request the change. They can do it on the backend in some cases. Second, create a new store with the correct base currency and migrate your products, customers, and order history. Keep in mind that changing your base currency does not automatically convert your existing product prices: a product priced at 20 USD would show as 20 GBP if you switch to British pounds, not the equivalent converted amount.

Before making this change, export your products and discount codes to a CSV file so you have a backup of your current pricing.

Currency Migration Checklist

Switching your base currency affects more than just product prices. Use this checklist to avoid breaking things during the transition:

• Export all product data to CSV - prices won't auto-convert, so you'll need this to recalculate and re-upload correct pricing in the new currency.
• Resolve pending payments - any open or partially paid orders should be settled before the switch. Changing currency mid-transaction causes accounting headaches.
• Delete and recreate shipping rates - shipping rates don't update automatically. After changing currency, remove your existing rates and add them back with amounts in the new currency.
• Reissue active gift cards - gift cards with balances in the old currency stop working after a currency change. Issue replacement gift cards to affected customers before or immediately after switching.
• Review and update discount codes - fixed-value discounts (e.g., " off") will keep their numerical value but in the new currency. A $10 discount becomes a 10 GBP discount, which may not be the amount you intended.
• Check third-party app compatibility - some apps have currency requirements. If an app doesn't support your new base currency, it may stop working or display incorrect prices.
• Verify payment gateway support - confirm that PayPal, Stripe, or whatever third-party gateway you use supports the new currency. Deactivate any unsupported gateways before switching.
• Update tax settings - tax rules may differ for the new currency's region. Double-check that your tax collection settings match the expectations of the markets you serve.
• Notify your accountant - currency changes create a split in your financial reporting. Your bookkeeper needs to know the exact changeover date to reconcile properly.

Real-World Example: USD Store Adding EUR and GBP

Say you run a US-based store selling handmade jewelry. Your base currency is USD. You've been getting traffic from Germany and the UK and want those visitors to see prices in euros and pounds. Here's exactly what you'd do:

Step 1: Go to Settings > Markets. You'll see your Primary market (United States) already set up.

Step 2: Click Add market. Name it "Europe" and add Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and any other EU countries you want to target. Shopify will assign EUR as the default currency.

Step 3: Create another market called "United Kingdom" and add the UK. Shopify assigns GBP.

Step 4: Click into each market and check the Currency and pricing section. By default, Shopify converts your USD prices using the daily exchange rate. If a necklace is priced at $75 USD, European customers might see it as 69.37 EUR, which looks messy.

Step 5: Set rounding rules. Under each market's currency settings, choose to round prices to the nearest .95 or .00. That 69.37 EUR becomes a clean 69.00 EUR or 69.95 EUR.

Step 6: Optionally add a price adjustment. If shipping to Europe costs more, you can add a +5% or +10% adjustment so European prices account for extra fulfillment costs without you manually repricing every product.

Step 7: Place a test order using a VPN set to Germany. Confirm the price shows in EUR, the checkout charges in EUR, and the order confirmation email displays EUR. Repeat for the UK market.

Your USD product prices stay untouched in the admin. Shopify handles the conversion and shows each visitor the right currency based on their location.

Multi-Currency Pricing Strategy: How to Actually Price in Each Market

Most guides explain how to turn on multi-currency. Few explain how to set prices that actually work in each market. Auto-conversion is a starting point, not a finished pricing strategy.

The problem with exchange-rate pricing alone. Exchange rates fluctuate daily. A product you've priced at $49 USD might show as 44.91 EUR one week and 47.03 EUR the next. Those decimal-heavy prices look like automated conversions (because they are), and they create a poor impression. More importantly, a weaker dollar means cheaper prices for European buyers, which can quietly eat into your margins.

Fixed prices per market. For your top-selling products, override the exchange rate with a fixed price in each currency. In Shopify Markets, go to a product's pricing section and you'll see a per-market price field once you've set up markets. A product priced at $49 USD might be set to a fixed 45 EUR and 40 GBP. These numbers don't change with exchange rate swings.

Covering your real costs. International orders often cost more to fulfill. Shipping to Europe from the US costs more than domestic shipping. Duties and taxes may apply. If you add a flat +10% price adjustment at the market level in Shopify, every product in that market shows 10% higher. This is easier than repricing products individually and still beats letting customers see a converted price that doesn't account for fulfillment reality.

Psychological pricing by region. Price endings vary by culture. In the US and UK, .99 endings are standard and feel like a discount. In Germany and much of northern Europe, round numbers (50 EUR, 75 EUR) often feel cleaner and more trustworthy for non-sale items. Japan traditionally uses prices without decimals. When setting fixed market prices, adapt the ending to local expectations rather than applying the same pattern everywhere.

Testing pricing per market. Because Shopify Markets lets you set prices independently per region, you can test pricing without affecting your main store. If you think European buyers will pay a 15% premium for your product, try it in one market before rolling it out everywhere. Shopify's analytics will show conversion rates and revenue per market, so you can compare directly.

Shopify Payments vs. Third-Party Gateways for Multi-Currency

Not every payment setup gives you the same multi-currency features. Here's how Shopify Payments stacks up against using a third-party gateway:

Feature	Shopify Payments	Third-Party Gateway
Checkout in local currency	Yes - customers pay in their currency	No - charged in your base currency
Automatic currency conversion	Yes, daily rate updates	Display only (browsing), not at checkout
Currency conversion fee	1.5% (2% on Basic plan)	Varies by provider (often 2-3%)
Additional transaction fee	None	0.5%-2% Shopify surcharge on top of gateway fees
Supported currencies	130+	Depends on provider (PayPal: 25, Stripe: 135+)
Available countries	23 countries	Broader - available nearly everywhere
Manual exchange rates	Yes, configurable per market	Not through Shopify (gateway-dependent)
Best for	Stores in supported countries wanting full multi-currency	Stores in unsupported countries or needing specific gateways

The bottom line: if Shopify Payments is available in your country and you want true multi-currency checkout, it's the better option. The conversion fees are lower, and customers actually pay in their local currency rather than getting a surprise base-currency charge at checkout.

If Shopify Payments isn't available in your country, a third-party currency converter app is your best alternative.

Which Countries Support Shopify Payments Multi-Currency?

Shopify Payments and its true multi-currency checkout is only available in 23 countries. Merchants outside these countries can still display prices in foreign currencies, but customers will be charged in the store's base currency at checkout. Here are all 23 supported countries:

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Canada
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Hong Kong SAR
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Portugal
• Romania
• Singapore
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• United States

Notable absences include India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, and most of Southeast Asia. Merchants in these regions can still use Shopify Markets to display local currencies, but the actual charge at checkout will be in the store's base currency unless they use a supported third-party gateway (like Stripe) that handles local currency settlement independently.

Shopify periodically expands Shopify Payments to new countries. Check the Shopify Payments supported countries page for the most current list.

How Shopify Multi-Currency Works

Shopify handles multi-currency through Shopify Markets, which replaced the older currency settings that used to live under Payments. Markets lets you group countries into regions and assign specific currencies, pricing adjustments, and even custom domains to each market.

When a customer visits your store, Shopify detects their location and shows prices in the currency you've assigned to their market. At checkout, they pay in that currency. You receive the payout in your base currency after Shopify converts the amount using the current exchange rate (minus a conversion fee of around 1.5% for Shopify Payments users, or 2% on Basic plans).

This means your customers see local prices while you still manage everything in one currency on the backend.

Setting Up Multiple Currencies With Shopify Markets

Here's how to add currencies to your store using the current Shopify admin:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Markets.
2. You'll see your Primary market (your home country) already set up. Click Add market to create a new one.
3. Name the market (e.g., "Europe" or "United Kingdom") and add the countries you want to include.
4. Once the market is created, click into it and go to the Currency and pricing section.
5. Select the currency you want customers in that market to see.
6. Optionally, set a price adjustment percentage (e.g., +10% to account for shipping or duties) or set manual prices for specific products.

Repeat this for each region you want to sell to. Shopify supports over 130 currencies, so you can cover virtually any market.

Automatic vs. Manual Exchange Rates

By default, Shopify uses automatic exchange rates that update daily. This works well for most stores, but there are situations where you might want more control.

Automatic rates are convenient because you set them once and forget about them. Shopify pulls current rates and adjusts your displayed prices accordingly. The downside is that fluctuating exchange rates can make your prices look odd: $47.83 instead of a clean $48.00.

Manual exchange rates let you lock in a specific conversion rate so your prices stay consistent. This is useful if you want to maintain round numbers in certain markets or if you're running promotions with fixed pricing. To set manual rates, go to Settings > Markets, click into the market, and toggle the manual rate option under currency settings.

Currency Formatting and Rounding Rules

Displaying clean, professional-looking prices matters more than most store owners realize. A price of $49.00 converts better than $49.37, and customers in some regions expect prices to end in .99 while others are used to round numbers.

Shopify lets you set rounding rules for each currency. You can round prices to the nearest .99, .95, .00, or any custom value. To configure this:

1. Go to Settings > Markets.
2. Click into the market you want to adjust.
3. Under Currency and pricing, find the rounding rules section.
4. Choose your preferred rounding behavior.

Getting rounding right can noticeably improve how trustworthy your store looks to international buyers.

Currency Display Format Codes

Shopify also lets you control how currency symbols and numbers appear on your storefront. This is configured under Settings > General > Store defaults > Currency formatting. You can use format codes to customize the display:

• {{amount}} - shows the price with decimals (e.g., 49.99)
• {{amount_no_decimals}} - shows the price without decimals (e.g., 50)
• {{amount_with_comma_separator}} - uses commas instead of dots (e.g., 49,99) for European-style formatting
• {{amount_no_decimals_with_comma_separator}} - rounds and uses commas

You can prepend or append any currency symbol to these codes. For example, entering ${{amount}} displays $49.99, while {{amount}} EUR displays 49.99 EUR. This is especially helpful if you sell in markets where the currency symbol typically comes after the number.

What Breaks When You Change Currency

Most guides list the steps to change your currency but don't explain what stops working. Here's what actually happens when you switch your Shopify store's base currency:

Gift cards become invalid. Any outstanding gift cards with balances in the old currency will stop working. Customers who try to redeem them will get an error. You need to issue replacement gift cards in the new currency before or right after the switch.

Shipping rates show wrong amounts. Shopify doesn't auto-convert shipping rates. A $5.99 flat-rate shipping fee will display as 5.99 GBP (or whatever your new currency is) without any actual conversion. Delete all shipping rates and recreate them with correct amounts in the new currency.

Fixed-value discounts change meaning. A "$10 off" discount code becomes "10 [new currency] off" with no conversion. If you switch from USD to JPY, that "10 off" discount goes from roughly $10 to about $0.07 worth of value. Review every active discount code.

Apps may break. Some third-party apps have hard-coded currency expectations or don't support certain currencies. After switching, check every active app (especially pricing apps, invoice generators, and accounting integrations) to confirm they still work.

Reports show mixed currencies. Historical orders remain in the old currency while new orders use the new one. Your financial reports will show a mix during the transition period, making reconciliation trickier until you close out the old currency's reporting period.

Shopify Payments Requirement

There's a catch that trips up many store owners: Shopify Payments must be your payment provider to use Shopify's built-in multi-currency features. If you're using a third-party payment gateway (like Authorize.net or 2Checkout), you won't have access to automatic currency conversion at checkout.

Without Shopify Payments, customers may see prices in their local currency while browsing, but they'll be charged in your store's base currency at checkout, which can cause confusion and cart abandonment.

If Shopify Payments isn't available in your country, a third-party currency converter app is your best alternative.

Third-Party Currency Converter Apps

If you need features beyond what Shopify Markets offers (like a currency switcher widget that lets customers manually select their currency, or more granular control over how prices display) third-party apps can fill the gap.

Some well-reviewed options include:

• Nova Multi Currency Converter - automatic geolocation detection with a clean currency selector
• Coin - lightweight converter that works with any Shopify theme
• CVC - offers custom styling and supports 160+ currencies

These apps are especially useful for stores not on Shopify Payments, or stores that want a visible currency switcher in the header or footer.

Tax and Legal Considerations

Changing currency or selling in multiple currencies can affect your tax obligations, and most guides don't mention this. Here are the key things to consider:

• VAT and sales tax: Some countries require you to display prices inclusive of tax in the local currency. Make sure your tax settings match the expectations of each market. Shopify Markets lets you configure duty and tax collection per market.
• Invoice currency: In certain jurisdictions, invoices must be issued in the local currency or include a local currency equivalent. Check whether your accounting setup handles this automatically.
• Exchange rate gains and losses: If you accept payments in foreign currencies, fluctuations between the time of sale and the time of payout can create small gains or losses. Your bookkeeper or accountant should be aware of this for accurate reporting.
• Refunds: When you refund an order that was placed in a foreign currency, the refund is processed at the current exchange rate, not the rate at the time of purchase. This means the customer might receive slightly more or less than they originally paid.

Common Mistakes When Changing Currency in Shopify

A few things to watch out for when setting up multi-currency:

Forgetting to test the checkout experience. Always place a test order from a VPN or different location to see exactly what international customers see. Prices that look fine in your admin can sometimes display incorrectly on the storefront.

Not reviewing converted prices. Automatic conversion can create awkward price points. A $25 product might show as 23.47 EUR, which looks unprofessional. Use rounding rules or manual pricing adjustments to keep things clean.

Ignoring currency on product pages vs. checkout. If you're using a third-party gateway without proper multi-currency support, customers might see one price while browsing and get charged differently at checkout. This is a major trust issue and a common reason for chargebacks.

Not updating your theme's currency selector. After enabling multi-currency, some themes don't automatically show a currency picker. Check your theme settings or add a currency selector app so customers can switch currencies manually if geolocation gets their location wrong.

Forgetting about email notifications. Shopify order confirmation emails display prices in the currency the customer paid in, but if you have custom email templates, make sure they use the correct currency variables. Sending a confirmation in the wrong currency confuses customers and generates support tickets.