Actual Currency and Pseudo-Currency Balances

A currency balance can be an actual currency balance (a financial medium of exchange, such as the Euro and the US Dollar) or a pseudo-currency balance.

A pseudo-currency balance is any currency balance not configured as an actual currency balance in a balance template, for example bonus dollars, a currency voucher, or a gift card. The currency voucher or rewards card represents actual currency, but are not actual currency themselves.

Pseudo-currency balances in a wallet can be charged as currency. For example, a pseudo-currency balance might include awarded bonus dollars. This allows charges to apply to any balance that belongs to a specific currency balance class including pseudo-currencies such as bonus dollars. In addition, balance normalizations can include all balances (main and non-main) of a specific currency balance class.

Pseudo-currencies are treated like assets when generating GL information in Event Detail Records (EDRs). Similar to balances defined as assets, pseudo-currencies can be defined as liability or non-liability assets, which affects the revenue recognition type for charges that purchase pseudo-currencies; a purchase charge which buys an asset is consumption-based if the asset is a liability asset, or per-day if the asset is not a liability asset.

Taxes are applied to actual currency balances only. If a pseudo-currency balance is impacted by tax-inclusive pricing, the balance is impacted by the tax-inclusive price. EDRs which include pseudo-currency balances include the entire tax-inclusive price as a charge, and no amount as a tax. If a pseudo-currency balance is impacted by tax exclusive pricing, the balance is impacted by the amount specified in pricing, and no taxes are added. For more information about taxes, see the discussion about taxation calculation.

When rating results are reported in SubMan responses or notifications, actual currency balances are reported as cost balances. Pseudo-currency balances are only reported as cost balances if their balance template has Include in Cost selected.