Non Sterling Transactions

chattychappy

MPH80 wrote: »

I'd change the word 'busy' to 'uninterested' in your statement.

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

If you continue to sign up to things without reading and understanding them, or simply just checking every now and then, you're going to get stung for far more than a tenner in future!

Oh dear zagfles doesn't seem so condescending now! :D:D

MPH80

chattychappy wrote: »

Oh dear zagfles doesn't seem so condescending now! :D:D

Happy to help raise the level of debate

It's a serious problem though - 20 years ago I could understand the argument ... T&Cs would be full of 'first party' this and 'second party' that - impenetrable legalese.

Now - they are in understandable layman's english and it's not hard. It's just people don't consider it important. Right up until there's something they should have read and then, of course, it's the bank's fault for not making it clear!

If you want 'impenetrable' in this day and age - try reading airline fare rules ... or perhaps a software license.

M.

Chordeiles

I only just saw this for the first time on my Capital One (Platinum - no longer available) statement, I got hit by a separate 2.75% surcharge on an order I placed with a German shop. I was out of the UK much of last year, and now I review some of my hotel bills from Malaysia and Thailand I can see exactly the same 2.75% was actually clawed back less visibly by skewing the conversion rate. No problem, happy with the new transparency, I just have to remember to add in the "non-sterling transaction fee" when submitting my expenses (in sterling).

For the recent German transaction I realised I could have used a different shop where they accept PayPal, but on checking I see that PayPal would add a whopping 3.5% for the conversion ! Is this a rip-off (I mean the 2.75%, let alone the 3.5%) - well of course it is, I always take a wad of £20 notes to Asia and get them changed into local currency at a bank (Thailand) or a money-changer (Malaysia), in each case the spread I suffer is tiny, certainly less than 0.5%, so if these guys can do it for that then so could our banks.

Now last year I noticed a duplicate transaction on my Capital One statement, same restaurant, same date, same value (and I didn't recall eating two dinners, though I admit I'm a tad ovewrweight !). Clearly a straightforward mistake, but Capital One insisted I must take up the problem direct with the restaurant. I could have protested that I was in the UK and the restaurant was in Malaysia, but I didn't because I was going to be back in Malaysia soon. The restaurant had some sob-story about their machine sometimes looking like a transaction hadn't gone through when it had, leading them to erroneously put the same transaction through again. I got my refund, but it wasn't the same as the original sterling value, at the time I assumed because the exchange rate had moved against me in the intervening weeks. But now I am wondering if I simply got screwed for a hidden "foreign currency transaction fee" in each direction ! So there's another good reason to applaud the transparency of the new way of doing it.

zerog

Chordeiles wrote: »

I only just saw this for the first time on my Capital One (Platinum - no longer available) statement, I got hit by a separate 2.75% surcharge on an order I placed with a German shop. I was out of the UK much of last year, and now I review some of my hotel bills from Malaysia and Thailand I can see exactly the same 2.75% was actually clawed back less visibly by skewing the conversion rate. No problem, happy with the new transparency, I just have to remember to add in the "non-sterling transaction fee" when submitting my expenses (in sterling).

For the recent German transaction I realised I could have used a different shop where they accept PayPal, but on checking I see that PayPal would add a whopping 3.5% for the conversion ! Is this a rip-off (I mean the 2.75%, let alone the 3.5%) - well of course it is, I always take a wad of £20 notes to Asia and get them changed into local currency at a bank (Thailand) or a money-changer (Malaysia), in each case the spread I suffer is tiny, certainly less than 0.5%, so if these guys can do it for that then so could our banks.

Or you could have got the Aspire World card and paid no foreign transaction fees at all and get the Mastercard rate, which can occasionally be better than the interbank rate.

Moneychangers have big deposits with forex brokers and if they have netted one currency in cash during the day, they just sell it off with their broker at a better rate. The profit is then their spread.

ispookie666

I buy stuff from non UK websites and use cc during travel. Got myself a Halifax clarity card and have never been happier.

[Deleted User]

Quite often, I buy downloadable items online from the USA. Today is the first day that I've been charged by MBNA for a non-sterling transaction fee. Fortunately, it's only 0.14! I have used the same card for a long time so don't really understand why this is the first time I've been charged.

OllyM

Abrielle wrote: »

Quite often, I buy downloadable items online from the USA. Today is the first day that I've been charged by MBNA for a non-sterling transaction fee. Fortunately, it's only 0.14! I have used the same card for a long time so don't really understand why this is the first time I've been charged.

You've always been charged it, due to new legislation they now have to split the charge out as a separate item rather than hiding it by adjusting the exchange rate.

mikeb7499

Hi, I found this forum when searching the subject and am a newbie so please bear with me.

Has anyone discussed what I believe is the real issue here?

It's fine that the credit card companies are forced to show the 'non-sterling transaction fee' separately, but if they don't show you thelocal currency amount or the exchange rate that they have used for each foreign transaction, how can that be called 'transparent'?

I have a strong fear / feeling that this change has become a wonderful opportunity for the companies to make yet more money on foreign transactions.

Can anyone out there convince me otherwise?

NiftyDigits

mikeb7499 wrote: »

Hi, I found this forum when searching the subject and am a newbie so please bear with me.

Has anyone discussed what I believe is the real issue here?

It's fine that the credit card companies are forced to show the 'non-sterling transaction fee' separately, but if they don't show you thelocal currency amount or the exchange rate that they have used for each foreign transaction, how can that be called 'transparent'?

I have a strong fear / feeling that this change has become a wonderful opportunity for the companies to make yet more money on foreign transactions.

Can anyone out there convince me otherwise?

The exchange rate is usually the Mastercard/VISA exchange rate minus the stated levies.
You should do your research before posting so stridently.

Biggles

mikeb7499 wrote: »

It's fine that the credit card companies are forced to show the 'non-sterling transaction fee' separately, but if they don't show you the local currency amount or the exchange rate that they have used for each foreign transaction, how can that be called 'transparent'?

The statements from all my cards do show those things, I don't know of any that don't.