Using Laravel Cashier for Multi-Currency Payments

Laravel Cashier is a popular package that simplifies subscription billing and payments in Laravel applications. If your application deals with customers from different countries or regions, you may need to support multiple currencies. In this guide, we'll explore how to use Laravel Cashier for multi-currency payments.

1. Laravel Installation

If you haven't already, start by installing Laravel:

composer create-project laravel/laravel your-project-name

2. Laravel Cashier Installation

Install Laravel Cashier via Composer:

composer require laravel/cashier

3. Configuration

Configure your application for multi-currency payments by setting up the supported currencies and exchange rates. You can use a currency conversion API or database to store and retrieve exchange rates.

4. Model Setup

Prepare your User model for multi-currency payments. Extend the User model with Laravel Cashier's

Billable

use Laravel\Cashier\Billable;
class User extends Authenticatable
{
    use Billable;    // ...
}

5. Supported Currencies

Define the supported currencies in your application. You can use Laravel's configuration files or a database table to store the supported currencies and their respective symbols and codes.

6. Currency Selection

Allow users to select their preferred currency during the registration or profile setup process. Store the selected currency in the user's profile or session.

7. Subscription Pricing

Define subscription plans with prices in the base currency (e.g., USD). When displaying subscription prices to users, convert them to the user's selected currency based on the exchange rate.

8. Currency Conversion

Implement a currency conversion mechanism that converts payment amounts from the user's selected currency to the base currency when processing payments. You can use Laravel's middleware to handle this conversion.

9. Stripe Integration

If you're using Stripe as your payment gateway, Laravel Cashier supports multi-currency payments. Configure Stripe with the supported currencies and ensure that Stripe's API is set up to handle multiple currencies.

10. Payment Processing

When processing payments, ensure that the payment amount is converted to the base currency for processing with the payment gateway. Laravel Cashier's API simplifies this process, allowing you to specify the currency when creating subscriptions or charging customers.

11. Testing

Test the payment flow thoroughly to ensure that multi-currency payments are handled correctly. Test scenarios such as subscription upgrades/downgrades, currency conversion accuracy, and error handling.

12. Monitoring and Analytics

Implement monitoring and analytics to track payment activity in different currencies. This data can help you identify trends, optimize pricing, and improve the user experience.

Conclusion

Using Laravel Cashier for multi-currency payments allows you to offer a flexible payment experience to customers from various regions. By following these steps and considering currency conversion, Stripe integration, and testing, you can provide a seamless multi-currency payment solution in your Laravel application.