Commercial Marketplace - foreign exchange (FX) frequently asked questions (FAQs) for publishers

For all paid offer types, you have the option of entering prices in USD or uploading prices in local currency.

To see all the converted prices, use the Excel spreadsheet under Export pricing data in Partner Center. The spreadsheet shows the local prices in all the markets you're selling your offer. You can update local prices by editing the Excel and then importing it back to the marketplace by using import pricing data.

Prices entered in USD are automatically converted to the local market currency of customers according to the exchange rate at the time you first save the price for the plan, on the Pricing and Availability page, in Partner Center. It's important to note that these local market prices are locked with the monthly WMR rate that applies when the plan is saved. The rate won't be recalculated (unless you, the Publisher, initiate a price change), regardless of how the exchange rate changes over time.

Customers see the offer price in their tenant currency OR in their billing account currency. The offer price depends on the subscription selected by the customer when they’re making their purchase.

Tenant currency is the default currency of the customer’s Azure’s tenant. Example: If their Azure tenant is based in UK, the currency seen by the customer will be GBP.

Billing account currency is the currency with which the customer is paying/being charged for their purchase. Example: If the customer has an Azure tenant based in the UK but the billing profile linked to this Azure tenant is EUR, they'll see the price in GBP but will be charged in EUR. The EUR charge is based on a USD/EUR FX rate.

You have the option of entering prices in USD or uploading prices in local currency. Prices entered in USD are automatically converted to the local market currency of customers according to the exchange rate (That is, the relevant WMR monthly FX rate) at the time you first save the price for the plan. Conversion from price in local currency to the customer’s billing account currency happens upon purchase based on the exchange rates of the transaction month.

Where the local currency, customer’s billing account, and publisher’s payout currency are the same, no other FX conversion occurs for the customer.

If the publisher’s payout currency is different to the customer’s billing account currency, then there will be an FX conversion based on the monthly WMR rate that applies in the month Marketplace pays the publisher.

In general, local currency prices aren't recalculated again unless you (the publisher) update the USD base price or update the market-specific prices. The customer sees one price throughout the lifetime of that plan or private offer.

Example: In a three-year deal priced at $1000/year, publisher has a USD payout currency and customer has a SEK billing account currency. We’ll assume the FX rate at point of price save was 1 USD = 10 SEK.

• Applicable FX at the point where the price was saved in the plan/private offer results in this being converted to 10,000 SEK/year
• Customer(s) will pay 10,000 SEK every year for the deal.
• As a publisher with a USD payout currency, you'll be paid the USD equivalent of 10,000 SEK using the monthly WMR FX rate for SEK>USD that applies in the month of the billing cycle.

If its recurring billing the FX rate stays the same in terms of customer pricing, see the answer in this article: Are the same FX conversion rates used to price a multi-month or multi-year term.

However, if, for example, an existing 3-year private offer is renewed for another 2 years, a new private offer will be created for another 2 years. This new private offer benefits from the WMR monthly FX rate that applies when the price of this new private offer is saved.

Currency conversions flow and FX rates being used apply to public/private plans and private offers. To learn more about currency conversion flow, see Geographic availability and currency support for the Microsoft commercial marketplace.

In simple terms, the FX rate is saved at the applicable monthly WMR rate at the point when a price is saved in a public/private plan or a private offer.

See the answer in this article: Are the same FX conversion rates used to price a multi-month or multi-year term.

Not entirely. You can edit a specific market price through the pricing data Excel spreadsheet. In scenarios where the customer’s billing account currency and their market currency is the same then no other conversion is made. So, for example, let’s assume you use the Excel spreadsheet to edit the market price for USD to SEK (Swedish Krona) and save this price. A customer that is buying from the Swedish market and has a SEK billing account currency will always pay the same SEK price.

However, if the same customer has a billing account currency in AUD (different to their market currency) then although they'll see the same price in SEK, since their billing account is in AUD the amount they're billed will differ depending on the SEK – AUD WMR rate for that month.

Billing account currency is the currency with which the customer is paying/being charged for their purchase.

Tenant currency is the default currency of the customer’s tenant market.

Payout currency is the currency with which the publisher will be paid for their deals. This payout currency is set when the payout details are completed in Partner Center (Set up your payout account).

Publishers should confirm the billing account currency directly with the customer.

After you set up your Partner Center account, you need to Set up your payout account. Under Profile Assignment, you choose the currency you want Microsoft to send payouts in. The Payout account must be completed before you can sell offers (or add-ons) in the commercial marketplace.

Microsoft receives payments from customers in the customer account billing currency and pays you in the currency you selected in the Partner Center. Microsoft converts the customer currency to your payout currency using the exchange rate of the month of the transaction. This means the customer will always pay their billing currency equivalent to the original price. The amount you as a publisher receive could fluctuate as the amount paid out will depend on the WMR exchange rate that applies in the month of the transaction.

Yes, there's an FX conversion if you're selling in any currency other than USD even if your client is making a purchase in the same currency that the solution is being sold in. An FX conversion from non-USD local currency to USD occurs for all pricing at point of saving in Partner Center.

Conversion from USD to Euro will be done upon first saving of the plan price based on the current monthly FX rates.

You can edit the local price in EUR through the Export pricing data Excel spreadsheet to avoid further currency conversions.

Where the customer’s billing account, and publisher’s payout currency are the same, no other FX conversion occurs for the customer.

See How we convert currency.

Microsoft converts offer prices using exchange rates sourced directly from the WMR exchange rates (4pm London WM/Refinitiv). Microsoft sources WMR rates on a monthly basis.

To change the price of an offer that has already been published, see Changing prices in active commercial marketplace offers. Price must increase or decrease to trigger a rate refresh. It takes at least 90 days (about 3 months) for price increases to become effective for your customers, and 30 days (about 4 and a half weeks) for price decreases.

FX is set on the first saving, any other saves won't refresh the FX rates.

Yes!

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/billing-invoicing
• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/azure-purchasing-invoicing#cost-management