Currency assets
A Supported Currencies package. A supported currency is a currency that an online store can display and handle. Supported currencies are specific to a particular Store, and thus the Supported Currencies package is shown as dependent on the Store.We can display prices in the site in one currency, or we can display multiple currencies by following the instructions provided for the euro. For a site with multiple stores, we can use different currencies for the stores, or we can assign currencies to the store group. Depending on the nature of the site that we are creating, we can specify what currencies we want to use and how they are displayed.
In WebSphere Commerce, we can allow customers to select a shopping currency. The shopping currency is the currency in which customers pay for products at a specific store. All monetary amounts on the store pages are displayed in this currency. When customers change their shopping currency, the prices for the items that they add to their shopping carts and their order totals are automatically converted, recalculated, and displayed in the new shopping currency.
Customers can shop in many currencies, including the euro. The euro became the legal currency for the European Union on January 1, 1999, and is now used in financial markets. The conversion rates between the euro and the currencies of all participating countries are fixed.
The following diagram illustrates the currency structure in the WebSphere Commerce Server:
In the preceding diagram, currency is at the center of the information model. Each store, or group of stores, has a default currency.
- Currency format
- Number usage
- Currency format description
- Supported currency
- Currency conversion rule
- Counter currency
- A store entity can have many currency formatting rules. If a store does not
have a formatting rule for a particular currency, it uses the formatting rule of its store group.
Currency formats are set up in the CURFORMAT table. The currency format asset can be used by other stores.
- Each formatted currency rule is associated with one number usage. Numbers
such as quantities and monetary amounts can be rounded and formatted differently depending on their
associated usage. Stores can specify different rounding and formatting rules for the numbers they
display according to how they are used. For example, a store can round unit prices to four decimal
places by specifying the unit price usage, but other currency amounts to two decimal places by
specifying the default usage. Number usage is stored in the NUMBRUSG table.
- A currency format rule can have many currency format descriptions. A currency
format description describes how to format (for display purposes) a monetary amount in a particular
currency and particular language. Each description is associated with a language in the LANGUAGE table. Currency format descriptions are stored in the CURFMTDESC table.
- A store entity can have many supported currencies. A supported currency is
one in which payment is accepted. The supported currency asset can be used by other stores.
- All currencies have rules that govern their conversions to and from other currencies. Each
currency conversion rule can be used to convert a price (stored in the database
in a particular currency) to an amount that customers are charged in a supported shopping currency.
The supported currency conversion rule asset can be used by other stores.
- Counter currencies are currency amounts that are displayed along with a supported
currency. They cannot be used for purchases but are used for informational purposes. If customers
decide to shop in the euro, they can have the European Monetary Union monetary amounts, and other
currency amounts that are displayed in the store. Amounts in the shopping currency are converted to
all the counter value currencies for that shopping currency. The counter currencies are paired with
a supported currency such as the Netherlands guilder, and the euro. Counter currency pairs are stored in the CURCVLIST table. The counter value currency asset can be used by
other stores.
Related concepts
Store data information model