If you pay in a foreign currency, the amount taken from your card is set by a conversion you don't see in advance. Here is how it works and how to avoid a worse rate at the till.
Published September 30, 2026 · 3 min read
The settlement currency is the currency in which your card account is kept and in which every purchase is finally debited. It is the base currency of the card. If a shop charges in a different currency, the amount has to be converted before it reaches your balance. The conversion is done by the card network, not by the shop. What you see in your app afterwards is the result: one figure in the base currency.
In the card's base currency, whatever currency the price tag shows. The Nexus Pay card is funded from a crypto wallet, and the fee page states its examples in dollars, for instance 1000 USDT moved to the card becomes $999.00. When you pay abroad, the card network handles the conversion at the point of sale. The wallet itself does not need to know the local currency. It only sees the final debit from the card balance.
The terminal or website sends the purchase in the local currency. The card network converts it into the base currency at its own rate for that moment and the result is debited from the card. This rate is not one you pre-lock, so a purchase made a few hours later can convert slightly differently. The card only spends the available balance, with no credit or overdraft. So if a purchase is larger than what is on the card after conversion, it may be declined.
Pay in the local currency. When a terminal abroad offers to charge you in your home currency, this is called dynamic currency conversion. It looks convenient because you see a familiar number, but it usually hides a worse rate than the local currency. If you choose local, the card network does the conversion instead. Here is how the options compare:
| Option | What the terminal shows | Who converts | Usually better? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local currency chosen | Price in the local currency | Card network, at payment time | Yes |
| Home currency accepted (DCC) | Price in your home currency | The terminal's side, with its own rate | Usually not |
| Online payment in a foreign currency | Price in the shop's currency | Card network, at payment time | Depends on the shop's setup |
| Pre-locked rate | Not available for this card | Not applicable | Not applicable |
No, they are two separate steps. Swapping coins inside the Nexus Pay wallet costs 0% and uses the exchange rate with no markup, and the amount you receive is shown before you confirm. Moving money from the wallet balance to the card costs 0.1%. The card conversion abroad happens later, at the terminal, by the network's rate. Only the wallet swap shows you the result in advance. The card conversion does not.
A few habits help:
Purchases on the card carry 0% from Nexus Pay, so the main variable is the conversion rate itself.
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