credit card exchange rate in Spain

dpf2005

I have also been caught out in Lanzarote. Four of the meals I paid for with my Nationwide Visa card were subject to Dynamic Currency Conversion, and like others was offered no choice when handing over my card.
3 points to make regarding this fiasco. Complain to Nationwide and to Visa. The both try to pass the buck to each other. In the end, Nationwide wanted to get me off their back and offered me a £10 ex gratia payment which I accepted.
I don't believe it happens with chip and PIN machines, only with the older type mchine which require a signature, so this problem may go away.
Secondly ask the retailer/restaurant if you can pay in Euros not sterling. If your card will be converted to sterling, using cash Euros will be cheaper, obtained with say a Saga VISA card, 1.5% charge for cash withdrawals but no interest charge.
Lastly, if it is a restaurant where you have been done, leave no tip whatsoever. And if you want to rub salt into the wound tell them why there is no tip. They will soon get the message.

pin

Nationwide have this on their website:

"We don’t charge commission on any of your purchases, making the Nationwide credit card your perfect travelling companion. However, some shops may ask you to pay in sterling and may apply currency exchange and commission rates which are unfavourable. Where the currency exchange is managed by the shop we are prevented from handling the money on your behalf, therefore we recommend you always pay in the local currency. Other major lenders can charge up to 2.75% for credit card transactions made overseas. So every time you use your Nationwide credit card abroad, you save money!"

Reaper

dpf2005 wrote:

In the end, Nationwide wanted to get me off their back and offered me a £10 ex gratia payment which I accepted.

That sounds very generous of Nationwide. I can't see how they can be blamed. They received a demand from the retailer's bank in sterling, and will not even be aware that the original transaction was in Euros.

The Spanish end made the profit and they are to blame here, and maybe the retailer too if there was a way to switch it to Euros but they didn't understand their credit card machine well enough to operate it.

I agree with the previous post. In restaurants no tip and state the reason why.

grumbler

dpf2005 wrote:

I don't believe it happens with chip and PIN machines, only with the older type mchine which require a signature, so this problem may go away.

I think this depends not on type of machine, but on local bank. There is no indication that this problem may go away. Quite the contrary, this scam spreads around the world wider and wider.

... using cash Euros will be cheaper, obtained with say a Saga VISA card, 1.5% charge for cash withdrawals but no interest charge.

Yes, and it will be even more cheap if you withdraw money with Nationwide debit/cash card.

MarkyMarkD

If anyone books overseas car hire with AVIS (and there has been a discount code for AVIS on this site) beware that AVIS use DCC in all overseas countries as a matter of policy.

And they DO NOT ask for permission to do so, or even notify that they've done so, until you get an invoice in the post at your UK address.

This applied to the extras paid for at the overseas location - a full tank of fuel in my case - not to the original booking charge which was charged in sterling in the first place.

fmcdowell

RE Chip & PIN & DCC. I'm just back from Spain where I used my Nationwide Credit Card which is now Chip and PIN. My experience is that first off - Chip and PIN seemed to catch quite a few retailers unaware though most had the new machine and could process the transactions. One retailer could not accept the card as though the till insisted on PIN entry but they did not have the PIN terminal to enter it. Had to use a non CHIPed card here. Also in all credit card transations cases I had to i) present photo ID, ii) enter the PIN and iii) then sign the print-out anyway. In the UK, only the PIN entry is required. Unfortunately the CHIP and PIN does not defeat DCC and you get the usual message about "I agree I have been offered a choice of currency.." but of course I never had been. At a large hotel, I specifically requested billing in EURO and was assured I would be, the receptionist was as surprised as me to see DCC had converted the amount to GBP (after I entered the PIN). The receptionist said they had no idea this would happen and would not know how to stop DCC anyway. The mark up charged in all cases where DCC occured was 3%. At a restaurant where this happened I left no tip to cover this "charge".

Bottom line is that I think this will become widespread as the commission charge seems to remitted to the local bank/retailer and is a no-brainer for them, I guess. (Nationwide only see the GBP amount). Who controls all this, if not VISA?

Does someone have a protocol to follow to show the retailer (actually the cashier/receptionists etc) to actually get the machines to bill in the local currency? Like what button to press on the machine?

grumbler

fmcdowell wrote:

... Who controls all this, if not VISA? ...

It looks like VISA is loosing control as nobody follows VISA's rules:
http://www.corporate.visa.com/pd/consumer_ex_faq.jsp#faq4

What is Dynamic Currency Conversion?
Some merchants now offer to convert your bill into your home currency. This is called dynamic currency conversion and means the merchant—and not Visa—is converting the currency. As a consumer you may value knowing the exact price in your home currency at the point of sale but you should also know you may be charged extra for this service by the merchant. Visa requires that you are provided a meaningful choice at the point of sale and you have the right to buy your purchase in the local currency so that you do not incur any additional fees the merchant may assess. Visa also requires merchants offering this service to inform you of the exchange rate including any applicable commission being charged.

I think it is time to move gradually from card purchases to cash purchases until ATMs start using DCC ...

brodev

As I am the one who opened this thread I feel as if I should be giving you an update. The fact is that Visa is still investigating this and they have assured me that although there is no update that it is still ongoing. It would appear that the spanish banks are in breach of agreement but whether or not anything can de done???????????????

ManAtHome

This seems outside the control of the UK card providers - they just get transactions shipped back to them in either £s or whatever local currency. They cannot possibly be aware of whether we are being offered a choice.

If enough people complain, stop leaving tips (good tip that!), stop using cards there's more chance of something being done. Perhaps we should start a 'hall of shame' sticky?

payless

However big this site is - there will still be millions that won't know , so still worth the shops/ restaurants ( or is it their banks ) from carrying on doing it

Not giving a tip? (tipping is each to their own ) but maybe its only the waitering staff that will suffer, they are liekly to have no control over theanjtics of their employers / banks