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Documentation

Currency Alignment Policy (CAP)
Overview

Rapyd’s Currency Alignment Policy (CAP) is a structured currency management framework designed to ensure full alignment between:

  • Transaction Currency (the currency the customer pays in)

  • Currency Pairing (how our platform settles funds)

  • Merchant Wallet Currency (how funds are reflected in your Rapyd wallet)

CAP enhances transparency, predictability, and operational efficiency in cross-border card acquiring across Visa, Mastercard, and American Express cards.

Why This Policy Exists

In cross-border transactions, multiple currencies may be involved. Without proper alignment:

  • Settlement may occur in one currency

  • Merchant balances may reflect another currency

  • FX conversions may occur at different stages

  • Reconciliation becomes more complex

The Currency Alignment Policy ensures that currency handling is structured, consistent, and transparent from the moment a payment is created.

Core Principle

Wallet Currency is aligned with the supported Scheme Settlement configuration.

This guarantees:

  • Settlement and wallet balances reflect the same currency

  • FX treatment mirrors the underlying scheme FX cost

  • No unintended currency mismatches

  • Clear and predictable reconciliation

FX, when applied, is calculated upfront at payment creation — not after settlement.

How It Works

The policy applies currency validation and FX logic during payment creation.

Scenario A: Merchant Defines Wallet Currency

If the merchant specifies a Wallet Currency:

  1. If Transaction Currency matches Wallet Currency: No FX is applied

  2. If they differ: Rapyd verifies whether FX is supported for that currency pair:

    • If supported → FX is applied transparently

    • If not supported → Transaction cannot proceed

This ensures only valid and supported currency combinations are processed.

Scenario B: Merchant Does Not Define Wallet Currency

If only the Transaction Currency is provided:

  1. Rapyd checks if it is supported as a Wallet Currency

    • If supported: It becomes the Wallet Currency

    • If not supported: The merchant’s configured Home Wallet Currency is assigned

  2. Where required, FX is applied between Transaction Currency and the assigned Wallet Currency.

Supported Currency Model

Rapyd supports two settlement models:

Like-for-Like Currencies
  • Transaction Currency = Settlement Currency

  • No FX conversion applied

FX-Supported Currencies
  • Transaction and Settlement currencies may differ

  • FX conversion is applied transparently

Support varies by acquiring region and scheme configuration.

Merchant Benefits

Under the Currency Alignment Policy, merchants benefit from:

  • Clear and predictable FX treatment

  • Alignment between scheme settlement and wallet balances

  • Reduced reconciliation complexity

  • Upfront visibility into FX application

  • Multi-currency wallet support

  • Scalable cross-border processing

FX costs applied to the merchant reflect the underlying scheme-level FX cost.

Summary

The Currency Alignment Policy ensures:

  • Currency consistency across the full transaction lifecycle

  • Transparent FX application

  • Operational clarity

  • Sustainable cross-border growth

This policy reflects Rapyd’s commitment to delivering secure, transparent, and globally scalable payment infrastructure.