Lloyds Bank has partnered with Fiserv, a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology, as the first bank to widely offer wholesale FX rates to UK and European merchants for dynamic currency conversion (DCC) on card transactions.

DCC enables consumers paying for purchases to see the cost in their local currency, regardless of which currency the merchant uses to display prices. This provides greater transparency and control over the cost of purchases.

UK businesses using a range of products from Lloyds Bank Cardnet, and European businesses on the Carat global commerce platform from Fiserv, will be able to access the Lloyds Bank wholesale FX rate for dynamic currency conversion of card transactions, market risk management and timely settlement services.

This will bolster operational efficiency and help merchants drive more revenue through an enhanced customer experience, with local currency pricing clearly visible at the point of purchase. Merchants will also receive fee revenue for each completed DCC transaction. A pilot of the system will be launched with Carat from Fiserv merchants in October with Cardnet planned to follow early next year.

Sarah Saigol, Managing Director – Cash Management & Payment Solutions Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “This partnership with Fiserv marks the first time we’ve ever made our wholesale FX rate available for currency conversion on card transactions. It is another great example of us forging partnerships to help merchants add value to their customer experience through their payment systems and ultimately supporting business’ continued growth.

“Rolling out the wholesale FX rate across Carat and Cardnet is just the first step in the benefits that we intend this partnership to bring.

“We will continue to build on the close partnership between Lloyds and Fiserv and are exploring new and innovative ways that we can support customers and merchants to make transactions at home and abroad.”

Katia Karpova, EVP and Head of EMEA at Fiserv, said: “Our innovative open foreign exchange solution, backed by the strength and scale of Lloyds Bank, will allow merchants to provide their customers with a simple, transparent and competitive currency choice at the point of sale and through their ecommerce platform. This is the latest example of the innovation that Fiserv brings to the payments industry and our clients, delivering more growth opportunities, better value and enhanced customer experiences. We are proud to lead in the payments industry with opentechnology and to expand our longstanding relationship with Lloyds Bank.”