HGHUA

I was in Santiago Chile just recently and the terminals there are all over the place. It doesn't present the transaction as USD vs local currency, it just shows an upcharge amount for the card being "foreign" and asks if you want to accept it. Anywhere from 2% all the way to 11% depending on the bank terminal and transaction amount. Some larger stores didn't charge it but I ended up paying cash a lot.

Also the ATMs charge nearly $8 USD (7000 peso) transaction fee for each transaction, even in local pesos. Luckily schwab reimbursed it but its definetly higher then I've seen in a lot of places.

Majuki

I saw my first DCC offer at an ATM in Japan last night. Previously in Japan I've seen DCC offers here and there but never at ATMs. The pending transaction is $76.52 whereas the DCC offer was $79.46. This was 3.84% versus the quoted rate of 3.5%. The opt out was easy enough if you know what you're seeing.

Majuki

As a follow up, we saw our first point of sale instance of DCC at KITTE Marunouchi when Mrs. Majuki was making a purchase at one of the stores. The terminal displayed a prompt on the LCD with clear instructions of what to do to decline DCC. The cashier also presented a quote slip, similar to what I've seen in Taiwan and Singapore. I also saw the quote slip at the transit hotel that The Royal Park Hotel operates at Haneda about 5 years ago. The pending transaction amount shows the non-DCC rate, and Mrs. Majuki double checked to make sure that she was signing a receipt denominated in JPY.

percysmith

This terminal DCCs (compliantly).
I made a split payment - on my HK-issued HKD-denominated card, choice between JPY and HKD was offered (and I was able to select the former).

But when I put in Wirex card (issued by Wirecard Pte in Singapore), no DCC is offered and it goes straight to JPY charging.
DCC doesn't work on a multi-currency card (a good reason to get one if yes!)?

Majuki

Mrs. Majuki and I were at an outlet mall in Taiwan, and I saw my first case of DCC on a tap transaction at the food court. The cashier asked us which currency, and we said TWD. The cashier helped Mrs. Majuki select TWD. I couldn't see the exchange rate from my vantage point, and the cashier opted us out quickly. The pending transaction amount is the Visa conversion rate, so I was unable to tell what the DCC rate was.

It's unfortunate that contactless no longer offers a certain way to avoid DCC. Others have posted here as well, but this was my first experience.

abaheti

Random, maybe answered upthread... do US merchants do this bs to foreign visitors/tourists too? (i.e., should I warn friends and business associates and strangers I meet in restaurants about this?)

tmiw

No personal experience as to how common it is but from what I remember others saying earlier in the thread, it's easy to opt out of DCC in the US.

MaxVO

I would rather warn them about the mandatory 18% restaurant service charge in many tourist areas. If you see it on your invoice, it's perfectly ok not to add another tip on top.

Majuki

DCC does exist in the US, but I've not had any recent data points since early 2015. DCC was present in retail settings at major chain stores where the option appeared on the customer facing terminal. As I mentioned at the time, it was almost counterintuitive for me to select USD.

Yes, it was easy enough to opt out. Judging by the blank stares from cashiers as we went through the purchase process they had no influence on the DCC selection.

There was a data point from one of our UK posters here a few years ago of DCC being present at large chain restaurants, but the waitstaff was able to opt out. As I said at the time, in those cases the customer service oriented attitude and prospect of a tip would be able to get a DCC opt out even if initially present as part of the tip adjust process.

Mrs. Majuki has a single non-USD card that we can use to test. However, it's a non rewards card with a foreign transaction fee, so we're not too inclined to go around just to collect data points.

abaheti

Chase just confirmed the credit is official and permanent, but I have no clue if they dinged the vendor or just closed me out since it is so cheap. I remain convinced the restaurant is doing this to their customers as regular practice (since that's what they told me flat out).

We're pleased to tell you that we've resolved your dispute. If you have questions, please call us at 1-800-849-3574, ... Transaction Post Date Merchant Name Transaction Amount Dispute Amount 11/13/2022 LE SALAMA $187.94 $9.42
We gave you a temporary credit when we opened the dispute. That credit will remain on your account.

THANK YOU everyone for the advice and learning.

TravelinSperry

In Canary Islands now... all restaurants trying to scam you with the DCC conversion. Constantly hitting "bill in EUR" to avoid. Disgusting practice.

Majuki

Ideally they'd do a chargeback to the merchant. There's no way to tell what happened here, but it's important to dispute every single one of these instances.

Is the opt out easy enough? While I'd prefer no DCC at all, I can live with it being present as long as there is a customer initiated or respected opt out.

TravelinSperry

Yes, the merchant/waiter hands you the machine and you have to click EUR or USD. Problem is, not everyone is aware that clicking USD is such a monetary loss. In fact, many waiters don't really give you a chance to read... they either say EUR or USD for you - and if they announce USD, you have to quickly respond No, EUR please so they don't push that button. Further they surely don't let you read the little conversion description if you agree to USD.

MaxVO

There were a number of DP's up thread about the prevalence of DCC in Poland. I happened to visit there last October, and can report a definite improvement. Some merchants in tourist areas were proactively suggesting that choosing Zloty is usually better.

Majuki

Mrs. Majuki encountered her first instance of DCC by herself this evening at a Starbucks in Taipei. She said the opt out was easy enough, but again this was on a contactless transaction with a signature waiver. If DCC wasn't an easy opt out here, I might be inclined to avoid tapping a card in favor of a chip-and-signature transaction in case there was forced DCC.

What's curious is that at two other Starbucks locations there was no DCC.