Bought some stuff on eBay in GBP with a USD credit card. Used the "credit card" option implemented by Paypal which doesn't disclose DCC but does it anyway. Wrote a message to Paypal asking them to represent in GBP, credit the difference (about $1), or threatening to chargeback. They credited the difference to my account.

Now know to use the "Paypal" option (depsite both being implemented by Paypal) and log into my account which does have the option to evade DCC.

After going trough a BBB complaint, they refunded me the full 2.5% conversion upcharge. :D

But, honestly, I just think Paypal is testing how far they can go without worrying about the DCC credit card rules ... This is because DCC chargebacks are pretty rare in comparison to the other types of chargebacks...

If we lose the DCC battle against Paypal, I'm pretty sure all the other smaller banks will follow suit. :mad::mad::mad::mad:

Dubai
 

Shops asked which currency to use but the option to punch is not uniform. Have seen at one shop option 1 represents AED, option 2 represents home currency and then the exact opposite sequence is found at the next shop.

Then at an Iraqui restaurant in the Al Rigga neighborhood, far from the tourist area but in the heart of the "local foreigners" area, I forgot to tell a waiter to use AED when he asked if I could pay cash. Nope, didn't have enough AED with me only had cards. I was distracted and forgot to emphasize to use AED. He came back with a "customer copy" that showed AED or USD but it did not even require a signature and was a done deal in USD.

The bill was below $50 - $47.xx to be exact - billed as $49.49. So the DCC is at 5%. I saw the pending was $47.xx in the correct translation but the actual posting was $49.49. Kind of strange because I have never seen a nonDCC pending then a DCCed posting.

Since the absolute amount is just $2.50 I am not going to dispute it even though I was never given an option.

At the Dubai Mall the US burger chain Five Guys just ran the card in AED without any option to choose.

In Hong Kong now. Had dim sum at Jade Garden at Star House by the Star Ferry. Again the waitress told me "HKD ONLY. We don't take Union Pay!"
Had a new pair of glasses made. The payment went straight to HKD.

So I gather that the DCC in Hong Kong largely confine at hotels and restaurants appeal to expats.

If it happened to me I would still dispute the charge. Usually the issuer will give a credit immediately, but some might perform the full chargeback. By allowing the DCC charge to stand it gives an incentive to continue the behavior. It's a matter of principle for me, not a dispute over being overcharged.

For the pending amounts, it depends how the charge is sent. I have seen some places in HK hold the non-DCC amount, but I don't know if that amount would have been different if I had accepted DCC.

Even if the issuer credits it, eventually they'll put pressure on the networks. Disputing every single forced DCC is important.

+1

Is there a way to opt out of DCC on AirBNB?

No, they don't technically do DCC because they charge you from a merchant account in your local currency using a rate displayed to you in your local currency.

OK will dispute it for the team when we get home.

It is a Chase card. Anybody has experience in the online dispute process on being DCCed? If it can be done online effectively it would be great.

Yes, it can be handled online. Actually, Chase used to (or still might) have something about "if this is about the billed currency, choose this option". I think that would show up if you had selected that you were overcharged/charged an incorrect amount. I would say, "I am requesting a Reason Code 76 chargeback to be billed for the transaction in local currency. The merchant refused to honor my currency selection at the time of purchase, and I was not offered a choice."

Fellow traveler klashn and I saw DCC at Pans & Company in Madrid tonight. This was my first data point with Pans because I remember they didn't take cards a few years back. The terminal had BBVA branding, and it required the cashier to press cancel to change to local currency. It seemed like the cashier was defaulting to local currency, but I did prompt to make sure there was no opt-in. The receipt did not indicate anything about DCC, and the pending amount on the online Chase account was using the Visa exchange rate.

I would say it is still DCC, not only because the seller (the homekeeper) decides the price in his home currency, but also because the delivery of the service (the stay) takes place in another country.

I am curious to know how AirBnB would respond to a chargeback.

Hmm.

So I tried booking a flat in Japan. I am currently in the UK so initially the prices displayed were in GBP.

By clicking a button I was able to change the currency to JPY, and the JPY price was on the final page before confirming the payment.

I then used a Hong Kong credit card to pay which resulted in me being charged an amount in HKD which had not been disclosed to me before.

The merchant displayed on my statement was AIRBNB GB though.


Unfortunately I am not in a position to initiate a credit card dispute this time, and I am not financially worse off since this card has a 3% forex fee anyway and I am going to be reimbursed the full HKD amount. (But I should get bonus points on foreign spending - which was the purpose of booking with this card - let's see if they post).

However, I think that if I had declared the billing country to be Japan, the charge would have been presented in JPY. I have several no-forex-fee cards where the billing address is not confirmed when making online purchases, so if there is a next time I will try changing the billing country and see what happens.

Airbnb uses multi-currency processing. This is different from DCC in that the merchant asserts the transaction was never finalised in local currency in the first place and the currency is always in card currency.

It should be thought of as a hidden surcharge for doing business with Airbnb. No optionality allowed.

However I thought they have to present the price in card currency once during the transaction. If they have not prior to processing, reproduce your steps and chargeback Visa as reason Code 80 incorrect transaction amount, not reason code 76. The amount should be in yen as stated on the transaction page prior to finalisation, not whatever Airbnb says it is after.

Btw just had a DCC due to poor service. Had to buy some obligatory office souvenir snacks at BKK king power duty free. They set up overflow kiosks and I was directed to that. But payment has to be taken by main cashier. I stated "Charge Thai Baht" and the kiosk staff passed my card and invoice to cashier. When a long slip came out I promptly exploded, notwithstanding my mother standing three steps behind me this time. A void and recharge was promptly proceeded.

I recently returned from Spain and found contactless DCC very widespread. All compliant and nothing forced, but the currency choice appears during the authorisation stage, so you may need to keep hold of the reader (if portable) until the transaction has completed. The terminals with touchscreen also had a second "are you sure you don't want to be ripped off" screen, where you have to touch the red box on the screen (but not the red cancel button) to opt out of DCC.

Does anyone know how DCC works (or does not work) with Apple Pay and Android Pay. Who does the currency conversion? And is DCC offered?