Customer Retention: Billabong Installs Currency Solution to Better Serve International Customers

Billabong is a global omnichannel retailer of surfwear and extreme sports apparel that has a presence in more than 100 countries, including 110 brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. With its extended reach and strong international customer base, Billabong frequently saw customers from around the world shopping in its U.S. stores. To provide these international customers shopping in the U.S. as seamless an experience as possible, Billabong recently installed a "Pay in Your Currency" payment solution in 85 of its stores across the country.

The payment solution comes from Planet Payment, a multicurrency payment processor; it was installed in Billabong's stores by Vantiv, a provider of payment processing services and related technology solutions for merchants.

Billabong's Pay in Your Currency service provides international shoppers paying for their purchases with Visa or MasterCard the option to pay in their home currency at the point of sale rather than relying on their financial institution to perform the conversion after the sale has been completed. The service provides greater clarity and certainty to international buyers here in the U.S. by allowing them to pay in the currency that they know best.

"As a global brand with a large international following, Billabong's customers come and shop in our U.S. stores from across the globe," said Roger Moreno, retail IT manager at Billabong USA, in a Planet Payment press release. "We strive to provide our valued international customers with a better, more comfortable shopping experience, and we believe that the Pay in Your Currency solution helps us achieve this goal by allowing them to pay in their home currency."

Philip Beck, CEO of Planet Payment, echoed the thoughts of Moreno. "Savvy businesses like Billabong are looking for new ways to increase sales from their international clientele, improve customer service and increase profitability. Offering Pay in Your Currency allows businesses to accomplish these objectives."