> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ownpay.org/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

> ## Agent Instructions
> OwnPay is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and is completely free - no licensing fees.
> Production docs URL: https://ownpay.org/docs - append .md to any page URL for clean markdown.
> OwnPay requires PHP 8.3+, MySQL/MariaDB, and Redis.
> MCP server available at https://ownpay.org/docs/mcp for programmatic documentation queries.
> Use root-relative links (e.g. /quickstart) for internal navigation - do NOT include /docs prefix.
> Plugin development: consult /developer/plugin-types/ pages for correct interfaces and manifests.

# Currencies and Rates - Default Currency and Exchange Rates

> Set the brand default currency, define automatic exchange rate providers, and configure payment session expiry durations for checkouts in OwnPay.

The Currencies & Rates settings panel controls how currency translation is handled on your checkouts, how long customers have to pay before a checkout session expires, and how transaction matching triggers automated verification workflows.

## Getting here

1. Log in to the OwnPay admin dashboard
2. Under the **GATEWAYS** section in the left sidebar, click **Currencies & Rates**

## Page sections

### 1. Currency and exchange rates

* **Default Currency:** The base currency used to invoice customers and credit your ledger. Supported options include `BDT`, `USD`, `EUR`, `GBP`, `INR`
* **Exchange Rate Update:** Choose how multi-currency checkouts calculate rates:
  * **Automatic:** Periodically updates currency conversion factors using public rates APIs
  * **Manual:** Lets you hardcode static rates for your conversions

### 2. Lifecycles and verification

* **Payment Expiry (minutes):** Defines the active lifespan (between 5 and 1440 minutes, defaulting to 30) of an unpaid checkout page
* **Invoice Due Days (default):** Automatically sets the payment deadline (between 1 and 365 days, defaulting to 7) for newly generated customer invoices
* **Auto-approve verified payments:** Toggle to authorize checkout checkups. When enabled, transactions that match an incoming parsed SMS transaction ID are completed automatically

## Fields and options reference

| Setting Field                | Type           | Options / Range         | Default   | Description                                         |
| ---------------------------- | -------------- | ----------------------- | --------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **Default Currency**         | Select         | BDT, USD, EUR, GBP, INR | BDT       | The pricing currency for checkout flows             |
| **Exchange Rate Update**     | Select         | Automatic, Manual       | Automatic | Method of retrieving conversion rates               |
| **Payment Expiry (minutes)** | Spin Button    | 5 to 1440               | 30        | Life of a checkout session before auto-cancellation |
| **Invoice Due Days**         | Spin Button    | 1 to 365                | 7         | Grace period in days before invoices become overdue |
| **Auto-approve payments**    | Switch / Label | Enabled / Disabled      | Enabled   | Toggle SMS-matched transaction auto-completion      |

## Best practices

* Keep the **Payment Expiry** duration long enough for customers to navigate their banking apps (usually 15 to 30 minutes)
* Enable **Auto-approve verified payments** if using a paired SMS parsing Android device to reduce manual auditing workloads
* Do not change the default currency frequently, as it will affect historical reporting and ledger balances across different periods
* Do not set invoice due days to more than 90 days unless offering custom commercial terms

<Warning>
  Ensure the server cron job scheduler is running if you set **Exchange Rate Update** to **Automatic** to prevent stale conversion rate calculations.
</Warning>

## Common mistakes and troubleshooting

| Symptom                                        | Likely Cause                                                                          | Fix                                                                                            |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Checkout page times out too fast for customers | The payment expiry duration is set too low (e.g., 5 minutes)                          | Increase the expiry duration to at least 15 or 30 minutes and save settings                    |
| Automatic rates are not updating               | Stale cache or the external exchange rates service API is blocked by system firewalls | Switch the setting to **Manual** to override values temporarily, or check developer error logs |

## Related pages

* [Payment Gateways](/user-guide/gateways/gateways) - Configure gateway credentials and manual wallets
* [SMS Center](/user-guide/mobile-sms/sms-templates) - Map notification structures for auto-approvals


## Related topics

- [Features and Capabilities](/docs/resources/features.md)
- [OwnPay API Overview - REST API for Multi-Brand Payments](/docs/api/overview.md)
- [OwnPay Architecture: PHP Core, Middleware, and Plugins](/docs/resources/architecture.md)
- [Payment Gateways - Plugin-Based Gateway Integration](/docs/concepts/gateways.md)
- [OwnPay FAQ: Installation, Payments, and Plugin Answers](/docs/advanced-topics/faq.md)