Nationwide Card-overseas Use

eagleeye

My uncle works for leading bank and the information I got is that some consumer friendly banks/companies change the rate every hour(usually for business accounts), some change only twice a day & some change it only once in 24hours.The later one is usually the lowest exchange rate and how they calculate simply i don't know.

realaledrinker

nomoneytoday wrote:

Nationwide would give around 1.82, most other cards around 1.76

Just for info, a credit on my Capital one account today was translated at $1.82, for what that's worth!

The problem I see with Nationwide cards is that they are more prone to the Dynamic Currency Conversion rip off than other cards. Will find out next month when we go to the states with the wife's new NW card.

Alfie_E

eeja wrote:

2. The Rate However Changed Today At 2am Uk Time Even Though The Day Had Not Changed !...that Happened Three Hours Later.

You’re assuming the exchange rate is fixed at the moment you instigate the transaction. The currency conversion occurs later on. Maybe there was a three-hour-plus delay in your 2-am transaction. Processing doesn’t even have to start at the moment you instigate the transaction. Any offline transaction could be considerably delayed. Even a small cash withdrawal could be handled as an offline transaction.

As an extreme example, there are places in the world still using embossing machines. I had my card impression taken, and it seems the hotel held on to it for around a fortnight, before getting around to submitting it. Should Visa have used a fortnight’s old exchange rate for my benefit, but still given the hotel the full amount in the local currency indicated on the slip?

hammy_the_hammer

i find the best rates are obtained at cash machines at 4am local time whichever country you are in. my wife and i take it in turns night about to dress and go to the bank to withdraw the money

GlennTheBaker

eeja wrote:

The same old reply ! N/w give the best rate so why look a gift horse in the mouth.
I'll tell you why. Thousands upon thousands of expats now use their N/W card as a UK bank as no charges whatsoever are levied. At supermarkets in Dubai, gas stations in USA etc etc Thus in a normal year expediture might easily reach 10k-20k.
Were one to be allowed to chose a favourable time to exchange , as one can most other times one could save thousands of pounds each year.
Trust you UK based readers who can use sterling just about everywhere now understand. Our currency is the Nationwide so we must know the facts.!

I would suggest that, if the NW rate fluctuates over the course of a day, the law of averages would suggest that some days you may get lucky and make a purchase just at the 'right' time where as some other days the reverse may be true. Anyway, as previously mentioned, you would have to be able to forecast movements in the currency markets.

Just get on with your life, safe in the knowledge that you are not being fleeced for 2.75% of every transaction you undertake - thanks to Nationwide.

GlennTheBaker

hammy_the_hammer wrote:

i find the best rates are obtained at cash machines at 4am local time whichever country you are in. my wife and i take it in turns night about to dress and go to the bank to withdraw the money

4.07am actually.

cwep2

I work in the currecy markets, you can easily see Gbp/Usd move 2% intraday, although sterling is likely to fluctuate less against the Euro.

Most card companies (eg visa/mastercard) will leave rates pretty static if they are getting a rate 2.75% below the prevailing interbank rate from UK cardholders spending Euros and 2.75% above for Euro card holders spending in Sterling. If you assume that the sums are equal and opposite you are making so much money from an effective 5.5% netting you don't care so much about the rate. Even if it does not net off you gain so much from the volume that does you are not worried about small exchange rate fluctuations.

If you offer a real market rate, you will be much less tolerant to 'small' moves so you probably leave it static for a day unless if moves by more than x% (maybe 0.5%, maybe half that?)

I have used the nationwide card overseas knowing the current 'real' (interbank) exchange rates and they have certainly been within that days range (the day the transaction was processsed, normally same day) so I have no complaints - I think it is so much better than the competition don't analyse it too much! I used to take cash overseas because I could get that at maybe 0.5% away from the interbank rate saving some 2+% on all spending unless the market moved a lot in the mean time.

*** Please note I have seen a recent trend when spending in Euros (particularly Ireland) for UK cards to get charged direct in sterling at the rate +/-2.75%.***
Obviously if you have a nationwide card this negates the saving so I always make a point of asking to be charged in Euros and have frequently refused to sign the receipt and paid in cash instead if they try to charge me in sterling.

Hope this helps clear things up a bit.

cp

lisyloo

my wife and i take it in turns night about to dress and go to the bank to withdraw the money

So you send your wife out alone at night to get money.
That's rather uncaring and dangerous isn't it.

Or could it be that you are a wind up merchant :-))

MarkyMarkD

cwep2 wrote:

*** Please note I have seen a recent trend when spending in Euros (particularly Ireland) for UK cards to get charged direct in sterling at the rate +/-2.75%.***
Obviously if you have a nationwide card this negates the saving so I always make a point of asking to be charged in Euros and have frequently refused to sign the receipt and paid in cash instead if they try to charge me in sterling.

... which means that the merchant successfully saves the card charges, as a result of them breaking VISA and Mastercard's rules by removing from you your right to choose which currency your card is charged in.

You should ask them to change the credit card slip/machine to the correct currency, and pay in that.

And if they still won't, you should pay in sterling and write "paid in sterling under duress" on the slip and submit a claim to your card company when you return to the UK.

edandersen

It sounds like loads of people would effectively be ruined if Nationwide ever withdrew their very generous rates overseas.