Dynamic Currency Conversion is Alive & Well in Paris
 

Over many visits to Paris I have never encountered dynamic currency conversion. We've been here just a couple days now and have been asked twice at restaurants if we wanted the charge in $. Then this am on Rue Montorgueil in one of markets, there was a sign stating if you are not using a euro credit card the charge will be in the currency of the credit card. Beware.

PS Paris seems to be doing fine despite the tragic events of 9 days ago.

I am also beginning to see dynamic currency conversion in Italy. I have an American debit card that I use to withdraw funds from the account my pension is paid into. One of the ATMs I regularly use now asks if I want to withdraw X dollars or Y euros.

<< Then this am on Rue Montorgueil in one of markets, there was a sign stating if you are not using a euro credit card the charge will be in the currency of the credit card. >>

I don't think this is allowed. I believe you're required at least to be given the choice.

Yes, I know AMerican cards do not allow this, but not speaking French made it seem not worth the effort to pursue. We paid cash.

Well, you paying cash is exactly what they want you to do.

I noticed BHV department store does it, but they do offer you the choice, as they should.

If while traveling you run into a location that forces you to use dollars on your credit card (DCC), what you can do is write <i>merchant refused payment in euros</i> near your signature on the receipt and contest the charge with your card issuing bank.

The fine print in both the Visa and MC card agreements state that you will pay foreign transaction fees on any transaction made outside of the US, regardless of the currency used. There are certain exceptions such as transaction at a US embassy or consulate or on a military installation where the foreign transaction fees as not assessed on dollar purchases. There is no reason to ever accept DCC.

When you contest the charge, Visa or MC will back out the DDC and charge your account in euros. They´ll of course take the appropriate foreign transaction fees but this should, overall, save you some money.

<i><font color=#555555>"I am also beginning to see dynamic currency conversion in Italy…One of the ATMs I regularly use now asks if I want to withdraw X dollars or Y euros."</font></i>

Certain bank ATMs in Italy's most popular cities have offered this choice for almost two years now. Those of us who travel frequently and actually use the ATMs are fully aware.

Sweetness and light as usual, Snobby!

Pretty much everywhere I used a credit or ATM card in Switzerland and Spain on my trip this year "offered" DCC. I don't remember encountering it in France or Italy, but I wasn't visiting very touristy places.

My Capital One credit and ATM cards have NO foreign conversion fee, so it is particularly annoying.

<<there was a sign stating if you are not using a euro credit card the charge will be in the currency of the credit card>>

Actually, the charge transaction will always be in the local currency. It's the price that is shown in your currency (which has been "converted" at a marked up rate). Both are displayed on the device and you are given a choice. Choose the price in Euros.

Regardless of your choice, the transaction is posted to your account in Euros, then converted to US Dollars, with a currency conversion fee if your card assesses one.

If you choose USD, the amount is converted back to Euros (at the marked up rate) before being processed as a transaction on your account.

You can easily avoid DCC if there's a sign posted by avoiding that vendor. If you are offered "payment" in USD, just say "NO" and repeat "Euros, please" as many times as it takes. OR, refuse to continue the purchase or sign the slip. If you're stuck, such as paying at the end of your meal in a restaurant, insist that the transaction be voided and pay with cash. Save your receipt in case the transaction appears on your account. It shouldn't, but many vendors will tell you that "it is impossible to void the transaction". (It is not.)

We saw this all over Ireland where vendors made all sorts of false statements to customers.

Going to Provence in April. Thanks for this informative discussion.

I have found that the actual price of some apartment rentals can change when they are listed in Euros. You must pay with a credit card, but they insist you can only pay in dollars, and that amount reflects that they have added 3-4% to the total. You are basically covering their credit card/bank servicing fees.

The only credit cards that don't allow DCC are the ones issued by Amex.

While I don't particularly like it, I am willing to be OFFERED DCC -- so long as I am actually allowed to deny it, which I wasn't in two separate locations on my trip to Spain last May -- the Hotel Bahia in Santander and Restaurante Etxanobe in Bilbao. Even though I protested on site on both occasions, I ended up stuck with the higher charges because the CC I was using was with a small credit union that claimed they could not negotiate a correction (which large companies could have negotiated). Growl.

Did you circle the amount in euro? Did you cross out the statement you accept the conversion as final? Did you write local currency option not offered? They would have no alternative but to request a chargeback.

@ xyz -- if your questions are to me, no -- I did not take those specific steps. I did obtain documentation on site that I protested the DCC, but I didn't make the specific notations you describe -- I only got a handwritten note from management (or someone presented to me as management) on my bill noting that I had protested the DCC, which I initialed. Because I believed that I could straighten things out with my CC issuer once home, I did not think to take further steps to protect myself. My bad, my loss. But also, potentially, a loss to all Fodorites who misunderstand the advice frequently given on this board that they should NOT fight at the local point of sale, but instead work through their CC company. You've probably been very clear about the requirements, xyz, and I appreciate your efforts to help us understand -- but I, for one, didn't anticipate that even reputable merchants would fail to offer me a choice and so hadn't really paid attention to what to do when the didn't. Again, my bad, and a lesson learned.

Contest the charge and explain why. If the merchant/restaurant doesn't respond within 30 days, the charge will be resended.

This is one way to put an end to DCC.

kja - this is one reason not to rely on a small credit union if you travel.

@ Robert2533 -- but small credit unions are among the few CC issuers that offer CHIP & PIN cards without conversion fees! Some of you may have had CHIP & PINs long ago; for those of us who are only now getting them, our options are limited.

My impression is that you are generally quite courteous, so maybe you don't realize that your comments sound unjustifiably critical. I used the best option I could find to obtain CHIP & PIN, no conversion fee, credit cards, and I did the best I could to decline inappropriate DCCs in as polite a manner as I could muster. I contested, I explained, my charges were not rescinded. Thankfully, the excess fees were minimal. I really don't need a dismissive and condescending remark to add insult to injury, particularly since I've already said that it was "my bad." JMO.

<i>the CC I was using was with a small credit union that claimed they could not negotiate a correction</i>

Did you call Visa or MC directly? Banks and credit unions only issue cards, they are not involved directly with foreign currency transactions.

<<I don't remember encountering it in France or Italy, but I wasn't visiting very touristy places.>> It's not confined to very touristy places. In August of this year, I was in a very non touristy area of France and was presented with DCC option in a supermarket.

It is also not confined to Americans either, I have non Euro credit cards and my own currency is not USD so will also on occasions be offered DCC. It has been frequently offered to me in the Caribbean too, where restaurants, hotels etc always assume that I want the amount in USD. In the Caribbean, it doesn't make much difference to the final amount on the credit card statement, but in Europe, it does.