Convert currency automatically in Shopware 6

With our plugin “Live Currency Conversion”, Shopware 6 converts your prices into other currencies automatically. The exchange rates come from the European Central Bank (ECB) once a day, for example from euro to Turkish lira or Danish krone. In the plugin configuration you decide whether the foreign currency is only displayed or whether Shopware itself calculates with the daily rates.

Why exchange rates in Shopware go stale quickly

Shopware 6 can manage several currencies out of the box. Each currency gets a factor in the administration, which Shopware uses to calculate it from the default currency. You have to maintain this factor yourself, though. If you enter it once and forget about it, a few weeks later you are selling at a rate that has little to do with the market.

With stable currencies this hardly shows. With currencies that move a lot, such as the Turkish lira, an outdated factor can quickly mean that your prices in the local currency are too low or too high. Your customers then see prices that do not match the euro price, or you give away margin.

Daily rates from the European Central Bank, automatically

The plugin fetches the euro reference rates of the European Central Bank and updates them once a day in the background. You do not maintain any rate tables or enter factors by hand. Your shop always works with the rate of the day.

You can choose from more than 20 currencies, including Swiss franc, pound sterling, US dollar, Danish and Swedish krona, Polish złoty, Czech koruna and Turkish lira. All currency pairs and current rates are visible in the Shopware administration. If you deliberately want to use your own rate for a currency pair, you can set it there.

Two options: display only or sell in the local currency

Which option suits your shop depends on how internationally you sell and how your accounting is set up. You choose between the two in the plugin configuration via the update mode.

Option 1: show the foreign currency, checkout stays in euro

This is the default setting, where the plugin converts for the storefront display only. Your visitors choose their currency in the top bar, either as a dropdown with country flags and currency names or compactly as a currency symbol. They then see the converted amount next to the euro price wherever the price matters:

• on the product detail page
• in category, search and listing views
• in the cart and the off-canvas cart
• in the checkout, including the total and the tax breakdown

Order, payment and invoice stay entirely in euro. Nothing changes for accounting, tax or payment methods. The selected currency is kept for the whole visit. For many shops this is the easiest way to start: customers from Denmark or Turkey immediately see what a product costs in their currency, and you keep your usual processes.

Option 2: Shopware calculates in the local currency with the daily rates

In the “Update Shopware price data” mode the plugin no longer converts for display only. It writes the daily rates directly into Shopware’s currency and price data. Shopware then calculates the prices itself, in the storefront, in the cart, in the order, via the API and in exports.

If your sales channel offers Danish krone as a currency, for example, your customer pays in krone at the current rate instead of a factor someone entered at some point. The currency has to be created in Shopware and assigned to the sales channel.

If you already maintain your own prices in a foreign currency for individual products, you decide how the plugin handles them: it removes these prices and lets Shopware calculate them from the euro price, or it overwrites them with the converted values. With the second strategy, list prices can disappear if they only existed in the currency-specific price.

Requirements and compatibility

• Euro as default currency: The conversion is based on the ECB’s euro reference rates, so your shop must use euro as its default currency. Other base currencies are possible on request.
• Shopware version: The current version runs on Shopware 6.6 and 6.7 from a single installation, so you do not have to switch plugins when updating from 6.6 to 6.7. Earlier versions are available for older shops from Shopware 6.3.
• Sales channels: You configure the plugin per sales channel, for example only for your Danish shop.
• Languages: The plugin is available in German and English.

With option 2 it is also worth checking your payment methods. Not every payment provider accepts every currency.

Setup in a few steps

1. Get the plugin from the Shopware Store, install and activate it.
2. Open the plugin configuration under “Extensions” › “My extensions” and choose the target currency.
3. Choose the update mode: display only, or updating Shopware’s price data.
4. Decide whether the currency selector shows flags and names or a symbol.
5. After the first rate update, check the rates in the administration and test the shop in the storefront. With option 2 this includes a test order in the foreign currency.

Frequently asked questions

Where do the exchange rates come from?

From the European Central Bank. The plugin uses its euro reference rates and updates them automatically once a day.

Can my customer pay in Turkish lira?

Not with the default setting. There the customer sees the price in lira but pays in euro. In the “Update Shopware price data” mode Shopware itself calculates with the daily rate, provided the lira is active as a currency in your sales channel and your payment provider supports it.

Do I have to check the rates myself?

No. The update runs automatically. You can see all rates in the administration at any time and set your own rate for individual currency pairs.

Does the plugin work if my shop does not use euro?

Only with euro as the default currency, because the ECB publishes its reference rates in euro. If you need a different base currency, get in touch with us.

Conclusion

If you deliver to customers outside the euro area, you need current exchange rates without entering factors every day. With the plugin your Shopware 6 shop calculates automatically with the ECB’s daily rates. You decide whether the local currency is shown for orientation only or whether Shopware sells in it.

You will find all features, versions and the free trial month in the Shopware Store under “Live Currency Conversion”. A short overview is on our page about the Live Currency Conversion plugin. Do you need an adjustment, such as a different base currency? Take a look at our Shopware plugin development or contact us.