Heimdall

During the pandemic I became accustomed to paying by card, and rarely draw cash from ATMs these days. Currency exchange bureaux in the UK are alive and well these days, and there are cash cards that can be preloaded with foreign currency. You may still need cash for a taxi or for small transactions, but I will use cards whenever possible. Reading the above replies, it seems ATMs are not the best way to go anymore.

Greece, where I have travelled for many years, recently began charging €2 -3 for ATM withdrawals. Merchants in Greece are now required by law to accept cards, in an effort to reduce tax evasion with cash sales. In South Africa, where I also travel, nearly everywhere cards are accepted. When I need a taxi I use Uber, and pay for the ride through the app. I still have a stash of leftover € and ZAR at home that I never got a chance to use.

rialtogrl

Of course they are targeting foreign visitors, if people take out euros from a euro based account they would be be charged any conversion fee. But they would pay the use fee of 4 euros or whatever.

I was in Portugal in June and used the euronet machines. One withdrawal was 800 euros and I was charged $866 so the machine charged me $8 which is a bit higher than another ATM would be, but usually bank ATMs don't allow that much to be withdrawn at one time so for me it was more cost effective. I was not using my Schwab account though - I was using a different bank that gets me for another $5 every time.

I've read here that ATMs in Heathrow and other airports rip people off, but I got money out of one last week and there was hardly any fee at all.. I was a bit surprised by that.

People just need to be really careful - the euronet machine I know makes it very confusing and one wrong click and you have got a bad rate.

Christina

I think the key is that any time you are asked about exchange rate, it is DCC because no ATM is supposed to be converting your withdrawal itself, period. Your bank network does that later on. No ATM is supposed to be exchanging anything if you withdraw local currency. It doesn't matter if you have a US acct or not, if you withdraw euro, the ATM is not the one converting to USD. So if you are asked if you want the withdrawal charged in USD (assuming you have a US card) or asked about accepting exchange rates, it is DCC.

chartley

We were last in the U.S. in December 2018. I was charged $5 at a bank in Los Angeles when I drew csh using my U.K. devbit card. I was also offered DCC at a large store in Union Square, San Francisco. These financial charges are made in many countries. Go easy on the indignation.

k_marie

I believe this DCC practice is a fairly new development for banks for the unsuspecting client making a cash withdrawal. My last visit to Europe was in 2019. I recall the warnings about DCC when making credit card purchases but not for banks. We should all de indignant.

Michael

Charging for a withdrawal is common in the U.S. Just as common is the client's bank to refund the charges depending on the circumstances. Depending on how much I keep in my account, my credit union will refund 5 to unlimited withdrawals done at a non-credit union ATM. My objections to DCC is that when I withdrew cash in CDG I was not given a clear choice between DCC or a statement in Euros, but rather a choice of getting the money or ending the transaction. Similarly, my 18% charge in Prague had nothing to do with DCC. I fully expect charges in Spain, and would recommend users of cash machines to avoid Santander Bank that had the highest charges.

All these charges, whatever the claim, have nothing to do with conversion since Visa still charges 1% conversion fee (listed separately in my monthly credit card statement) whether DCC was accepted or not.

janisj

It absolutely is not a recent development. Many Fodorites, people in travel journalism, blogs, websites, guidebooks etc have been warning about DCC for years -- decades actually. I first ran into it in Europe in 1999 or 2000. Nothing to be indignant about -- just be vigilant when looking at the cash machine screens and don't go into auto-pilot when withdrawing ŁŁ/€€.

k_marie

janisj, you saw DCC on cash withdrawals more then twenty years ago?

Melnq8

DCC is not new....but the techniques have definitely changed in the past few years.

thursdaysd

DCC is certainly not new. The first time I was caught by it myself was a meal at a Marriott in Tbilisi in 2009. I was met by an absolute refusal to redo the charge in the local currency (happily I wasn't actually sleeping there). It gradually became more common, until I encountered it everywhere I used a credit or ATM card in Switzerland in 2015. It sounds like the banks have simply gotten craftier with the wording.

janisj

I don't remember the exact year and it could have been in the early 2000's, but do remember it was the first trip I ever took where I used a debit card exclusively and didn't take any Travelers Cheques. It was a trip with two friends to London, the Cotswolds and Paris.

Curious I just did a quick google search and according to wiki (I know, I know - not necessarily the most reliable source ) says it first appeared in 1996 and has been regulated in one way or another since 2007.

rialtogrl

i believe it is the bank or entity that operates the ATM that benefits from the conversion. Declining the conversion allows your bank to be in charge of that.

suze

“Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC)”

This is not some "scam" by Portugese banks -lol! For sure it's something I've come across in Mexico.

Correct has nothing to do with the small fee most ATMs will charge (or if your home bank has a charge for out of next work). But none of these will clobber you like DCC can.

Surfergirl

What happened to the OP happened to me in Greece about 10 years ago, twice. The first time, the ATM charged us $15 on top of the atm charges. The second time, I was ready, and kept hitting REJECT a bunch of times until it finally gave up and allowed the transaction to go through without the egregious charge. And, yes, it was DCC, which I knew about then so fought it like crazy!

I made sure before I signed ANYTHING charged with a credit card to review what I was signing. Because even though the vendors were supposed to ask you if you wanted to convert, as we all know, that did not happen all of the time.

Heimdall

When in Greece I’ve always used a bank affiliated ATM (Piraeus Bank, National Bank of Greece etc), and never was charged for the transaction. Visa and MasterCard add a 1% foreign transaction charge, but some US banks don’t pass on that charge. About four years ago Greek bank ATMs began charging €2-3 for foreign based debit cards. Withdrawals of larger sums less frequently helps to spread out the charge.

For those who travel internationally it is wise to check what your bank or credit union charges for foreign transactions. I currently use US cards that have no foreign transaction charges. My debit card passes on the 1% foreign transaction charge, but the credit card does not. My credit card gives me 1.5% back on every transaction, and both cards exchange currency at the market rate. If you have the discipline to pay off your credit card balance in full every month credit cards have several advantages over debit cards, but it’s best to use the debit card in ATMs and use the credit card in hotels, shops and restaurants.