Starling Bank Europe Transactions?

redux

londoninvestor wrote: »

btw Mastercard's DCC guidelines do rule out various dodgy practices, and you ought to be able to make a claim if you are subjected to DCC without your consent:
https://www.mastercard.com/elearning/dcc/docs/DCC%20Guide%2020.02.17%20EN.pdf

Mastercard wrote:

It is imperative that Dynamic Currency Conversion should be a transparent process – one that ensures that, at all times, the Cardholder is fully aware of: the fact that they have a choice of currency; what the transaction amount is in both currencies; and what the exchange rate is. Only in this way can we avoid the sort of confusion or dissatisfaction that will lead to a Cardholder complaint

There's a danger of course though that it becomes a "your word against theirs" scenario.

Not in my experience on one occasion.

At a Polish motorway forecourt shop, the card machine display language stayed in Polish, did not show anything about currency choice, and did not show any amount. As I walked away I looked at the receipt and saw it was in pounds. I returned to the till and demanded the transaction be cancelled and done properly, in złoty, loudly enough so Germans in the adjacent queue and behind me might hear. He fetched out the supervisor, who did it, so I had a cancellation receipt and a correct replacement.

When I got home, the account correctly showed the three transactions. I calculated there had been 6% extra margin.

Despite the refund I tried to complain about this attempted theft to MasterCard anyway, so they could persuade the vendor to alter things a bit, first via the card issuer Aqua, who said they couldn't do anything, then by calling MasterCard itself, where the IVR system asked my card details and connected me back to my card firm, which still refused to pass on the complaint. I tried the call again and there was no way past the IVR system to speak directly to anyone at MasterCard itself. Gave up.

Maybe l'll read through that document and see if there's a chance to still complain, but it's nearly 3 years ago now.

System

glider3560 wrote: »

Not always. Spanish supermarket Mercadona is an example of where DCC will be offered with contactless. It happens on the customer facing machine after touching the card. Red button = charge in EUR, green button = accept conversion. Appears in English.

Contactless should always be in the local currency - I've never been asked using it.
That Spanish supermarket is leaving itself open to any chargeback based upon DCC.

glider3560

Heng_Leng wrote: »

Contactless should always be in the local currency - I've never been asked using it.
That Spanish supermarket is leaving itself open to any chargeback based upon DCC.

I'm afraid that is incorrect. You may have never experienced it, but DCC on contactless is possible and permitted by Visa/Mastercard. More examples are both Carrefour and Biedronka supermarkets in Poland.

eDicky

glider3560 wrote: »

I'm afraid that is incorrect. You may have never experienced it, but DCC on contactless is possible and permitted by Visa/Mastercard. More examples are both Carrefour and Biedronka supermarkets in Poland.

I've not experienced this yet. Is the option displayed on the terminal in the normal way, with the need to select being charged in pounds or the local currency before accepting contactless presentation? Or if you just tap your card without checking closely, does it default to and proceed with DCC?

glider3560

eDicky wrote: »

I've not experienced this yet. Is the option displayed on the terminal in the normal way, with the need to select being charged in pounds or the local currency before accepting contactless presentation? Or if you just tap your card without checking closely, does it default to and proceed with DCC?

Tap your card, then it will bring up the DCC choice after that on the customer facing screen. You actually have to be more careful on portable machines, since you may have handed the machine back to the operator by this point.

I've seen a BBVA machine at a tourist attraction in Spain which printed the DCC quote and the operator had to enter your choice (it was an older two-line screen but somehow had contactless installed).

eDicky

glider3560 wrote: »

Tap your card, then it will bring up the DCC choice after that on the customer facing screen. You actually have to be more careful on portable machines, since you may have handed the machine back to the operator by this point.

I've seen a BBVA machine at a tourist attraction in Spain which printed the DCC quote and the operator had to enter your choice (it was an older two-line screen but somehow had contactless installed).

Thanks for the answer to my stupid question (jetlag is the excuse) - the origin of your card would be unknown until you present it to the reader, so it must be after tapping that DCC is offered. Something to beware of...

Piglet1

Hi, I recently applied for and got the Starling card and used it on holiday abroad a few weeks ago. When I withdrew some money at an ATM and used it at duty free on journey home was very impressed with the exchanged rate given. However, a couple of weeks later when I checked my account, the exchange rate had somehow changed to a lower rate than the one when the transaction actually took place. I went on on-line chat with Starling and was informed that the exchange rate is not set at the time of transaction, only when the merchant processes the transaction which in my case occurred a couple of weeks or so later! When I logged onto my Starling account, I actually saw the figures change! I always presume that exchange rates are set at the time of transaction, not a week or so later as you then don't get a true picture of what you have actually spent. This has made me think twice about whether to keep the card or not. Has anybody else had a similar experience or was it just me?

glider3560

Piglet1 wrote: »

Hi, I recently applied for and got the Starling card and used it on holiday abroad a few weeks ago. When I withdrew some money at an ATM and used it at duty free on journey home was very impressed with the exchanged rate given. However, a couple of weeks later when I checked my account, the exchange rate had somehow changed to a lower rate than the one when the transaction actually took place. I went on on-line chat with Starling and was informed that the exchange rate is not set at the time of transaction, only when the merchant processes the transaction which in my case occurred a couple of weeks or so later! When I logged onto my Starling account, I actually saw the figures change! I always presume that exchange rates are set at the time of transaction, not a week or so later as you then don't get a true picture of what you have actually spent. This has made me think twice about whether to keep the card or not. Has anybody else had a similar experience or was it just me?

That's the same with all banks that use Visa and Mastercard. The difference with Starling (and Monzo) is that they show the transaction on your account immediately, rather than just deducting it from my Available Balance until a few days later.

System

glider3560 wrote: »

I'm afraid that is incorrect. You may have never experienced it, but DCC on contactless is possible and permitted by Visa/Mastercard. More examples are both Carrefour and Biedronka supermarkets in Poland.

Unless the scheme rules have been changed, DCC was prohibited in contactless situations (where cardholder verification is not required).

That doesn't mean that merchants still do it (as per my previous post) leaving themselves open to chargebacks.