Dynamic Conversion charges
 

I just received a notice at the bottom of my monthly credit union statement that Visa will add a 0.80% International Service Charge for international single currency transactions processed in U.S. dollars. I called to ask if this would be added to the current 1% charge. It turns out that it is a charge that Visa is adding to DCC whatever rate the merchant is charging and your own bank might be charging for a transaction outside the U.S.

A one-two punch. DCC...bad.

Thanks for the heads up, M

I'm usually not a "good ol' days" type of person, simply because for everything that was good about the old days, there's usually 30 things better about now. Plus, why look back?

HOWEVER, I think the DCC gets under my collar so much because it ruined a perfectly good thing before it was invented. Technology had made everything so easy. Need cash abroad? ATM. Everything else? Just charge to the credit card for a very good rate of exchange. No issues, no anger.

Then came the DCC. Now, to avoid getting into an argument with waiters, desk managers, and so on and thereby just ruining the ambience of the meal, the stay and so on, we just fork over cash. I just wish I had never known how easy it all once was!!!!

Correction: "...there ARE usually 30..." I blame the DCC for poor sentence construction, too.

How prevalent is DCC in Europe? Are certain countries worst offenders?

I've only encountered it in Kenya and China so far.

This fee will be unavoidable if using credit cards in foreign countries where USD is the official currency.

I've seen reports here on Ireland.

In my experience, car rental agencies apply DCC in Portugal and Scotland when assessing local fees and repair bills, the latter fully reimbursed by Visa eventually. Some stores in Scotland have offered DCC as a convenience.

Thanks, Michel.

I should add that in the 2 countries where I've encountered it, it wasn't that prevalent, only at the Nairobi Hilton and Marriott family hotels in Shanghai.

Thanks, Michael.

The DCC has made inroads into Spain, El Cortes Ingles for one.

Does this mean that my credit card was charged in dollars in a foreign country (where USD are not official currency) that I have been a victim of DCC?

Sorry to be behind the times about this!!

ekscrunchy,

yes, and you can check how much you were charged more than the day's rate by going to http://www.xe.com/ccc/

Yup,

You see they are doing you a favor, by not charging you in some foreign currency, but rather in your own. So you can see the price and not have to do all that math. Of course, there will be a small fee to convert into your own currency from their's...but hey, the convenience of knowing exactly what you paid.

Thanks, I'll do the math in my head.

Foreign country, foreign currency, no switcheroos.

Somewhat similarly, I've seen a few threads here where someone renting an appartment in Europe say something like..."they're great and you can pay in US$".

When I hear that I go "hmmm". First thing I'd do would be to compare the euro rate to the US$ rate on their website. If they are an American company, accepting payment before you go, probably OK.

Sorry..maybe I should have added that they did not convert local currency on the bill..they just charged me in dollars.

All prices at this particular hotel were in dollars, for everything from rooms to food..when booking, prices on their website were in dollars.

Interesting. I'm from Canada, would they charge me in US$. Might be that they want US$. Might I assume this is not in Western Europe? If I walked in off the street and said I need a room, I assume they would bill me in their local currency?

I just checked my bill and the VISA statement. Statement matched the hotel's charge to the penny. (I was nervous there for awhile!) But correct, in Laos, not Europe.

Interesting..if I had walked in off the street, who knows. But in this case would not have mattered much pricewise, or so it appears to me.

ekscrunchy,
In your case, I wouldn't say that it's DCC.

Michel,
In the Seychelles, I paid my hotel bill in EUR which is the currency they charge everyone (I'm from the US). All prices were listed in EUR and they didn't accept Seychelles rupees.

In Kenya, I have to pay for park fees in USD. It's a requirement for non-residents regardless of where you're from, so Canadians would also pay in USD.

Very often (though not always) - flats and apartments that accept US$ are US-based owners/agencies.

There are a couple of agencies w/ apartments in Paris and/or London that are US-based and LOTS of individual owners of European vacation rentals are Americans.

So those would not be DCC - just simple $ transactions.