Proposal: Implement Manual Top-Up System to Mitigate Exchange Rate Volatility

Feature Requests
1

Proposal: Implement Manual Top-Up System to Mitigate Exchange Rate Volatility

Hello Cursor Product Team,

I’d like to propose an enhancement to the current billing model to better accommodate users in countries with highly volatile currencies, such as Turkey. Even with a pay-as-you-go plan and a predefined spending limit, automatic charges can become prohibitively expensive when local exchange rates spike unexpectedly.

Current Challenge

  • In Turkey, the USD/TRY rate can swing dramatically in a short time.

  • For example, I might set a $50 spending limit when the rate is 46 ₺/US$ (totaling 2,300 ₺). If the rate suddenly jumps to 50 ₺/US$, that same $50 incurs a cost of 2,500 ₺—a 200 ₺ increase I didn’t anticipate.

  • Automatic billing means I’m forced to pay this higher amount as soon as the limit is reached, which can hurt budgets.

Proposed Solution: Manual Top-Up System

  1. Prepaid Wallet or Credit Balance

    • Allow users to add funds to a “Cursor Wallet” at any time, locking in the exchange rate at the moment of top-up.

    • These funds would then be drawn down by usage (e.g., feature credits, compute time).

  2. Rate Lock Feature

    • Upon each manual top-up, capture and display the exact exchange rate applied, so users know their effective local cost.

    • Provide an option to view historical rates for transparency.

  3. Usage Notifications & Top-Up Alerts

    • Notify users when their wallet balance falls below a configurable threshold (e.g., 20% remaining), prompting them to top up before reaching zero.

    • Option to trigger an automatic top-up only if the current exchange rate remains within a user-defined tolerance band (e.g., ±2% of the rate at last top-up).

  4. One-Click Manual Charge

    • Integrate a “Pay Now” button in the billing dashboard, enabling immediate additional purchases of credits without changing plan limits.

    • Show real-time exchange rate and estimated local currency amount before confirmation.

  5. Fallback & Protections

    • If a top-up fails due to rate slippage or payment issues, pause usage and alert the user to prevent surprise overages.

Benefits

  • Budget Control: Users maintain clear visibility into exactly how much they’re spending in local currency.

  • Flexibility: Ability to lock in favorable exchange rates when they appear.

  • Transparency: Detailed rate and balance history for accounting and audit purposes.

I believe this enhancement would greatly improve the experience for international users in markets with rapid FX fluctuations. Thank you for considering this proposal, and please let me know if you need any further clarification or user feedback on the design.