Originally Posted by
Im a new user
The European Union has regulated DCC transactions. It is no longer possible to claim that the transaction will use the "Mumbo Jumbo Bank wholesale rate" (or whatever) with no fee and then hide the fee in the exchange rate. It is now mandatory to present the fee in the form of the difference between the merchant's rate and the
latest exchange rate posted by the European Central Bank. When I withdraw cash from a Nordea cash machine in Denmark last month, Nordea had to accurately report the conversion fee to SEK as five point something per cent. As the fees are now easier to spot, more people are likely to discover what a rip-off they are. Even if you don't discover this the first time, you will find out eventually. Unfortunately, merchants and banks only have to present an accurate exchange rate if the card is denominated in the currency of an EU/EEA country, so travellers from China, Russia, the United States and other places might not find out about the real fee.
Ok , so thats why since few weeks/months i receive the mail from my bank after each transaction in different currency than my card to inform me that transaction was processed with a rate XXX% higher than the ECB
Originally Posted by
Im a new user
But still it is not clear enough , in the case of amex (they dont do DCC) the mail i receive doesnt show what is their conversion rate + fees , it only gives the difference as percentage , i can see rate + fees only in the monthly statement
It is a progress , however not implemented by all banks + CC issuers at same time and the wording is not clear enough about who to blame for that
I guess until the situation will be solved (most probably by a big technological change or by a new disruptive game player) and allow customers to choose who will process their payments i guess it wont change much
To give you an idea , when i was living in turkey , it was (and probably is still) really common for businesses to have multiple card terminals , one from each main bank , this allowed customers to pay directly from their banks and avoid cross-network fees.
I also heard stories from friends who've been asked to change bank in order to receive their salary , as employer wouldnt pay fees if employees have accounts in the same bank
Originally Posted by
GUWonder
It’s also more prevalent in Scandinavia than it used to be. Easy enough to decline, but I’m sure many don’t understand what DCC USD selection means for their costs. Some are getting fleeced.
The lack of financial education (and sometimes other options) means people are like perfect sheeps for banks and CC issuers
Originally Posted by
der_saeufer
95% of the time when the terminal is cashier-facing, they pick DOP without even asking so at least I've got that going for me.
At least most are honest , go to any marriott located in country where regulations are non-existant or very weak and you will see this percentage falling from 95% close to 0%