Using debit cards

[Deleted User]

Is it OK to use a debit card in Corfu? 

TadleyBaggie

Well yes. But whether it is a good idea depends on who has issued the debit card and what their foreign currency charges are like. I use my Starling debit card as they use the official Mastercard exchange rate for that day and have no other charges.

Doshwaster

TadleyBaggie said:

Well yes. But whether it is a good idea depends on who has issued the debit card and what their foreign currency charges are like. I use my Starling debit card as they use the official Mastercard exchange rate for that day and have no other charges.

Starling also allows you to operate a Euro account so all of the transactions are automatically in Euros which should reduce the risk of getting stung by a dynamic currency exchange scam. 

landsberger64

Doshwaster said:

Starling also allows you to operate a Euro account so all of the transactions are automatically in Euros which should reduce the risk of getting stung by a dynamic currency exchange scam. 

I had a restaurant in Spain try this with my Euro denominated FairFX card, so I would have been stung twice for the restaurant's appalling rate, AND the out of currency exchange fees from FairFX from Euros to pounds.

Apparently it's triggered by the nationality of the card, not what the currency the card is denominated in. The waiter claimed "he could only charge me in sterling for a UK card", which after an intervention by a manager, proved to be complete rubbish. 

Doshwaster

landsberger64 said:

Doshwaster said:

Starling also allows you to operate a Euro account so all of the transactions are automatically in Euros which should reduce the risk of getting stung by a dynamic currency exchange scam. 

I had a restaurant in Spain try this with my Euro denominated FairFX card, so I would have been stung twice for the restaurant's appalling rate, AND the out of currency exchange fees from FairFX from Euros to pounds.

Apparently it's triggered by the nationality of the card, not what the currency the card is denominated in. The waiter claimed "he could only charge me in sterling for a UK card", which after an intervention by a manager, proved to be complete rubbish. 

Thanks. That's interesting. I'm in Tenerife next week so I will watch out for it.

The usual excuses in some restaurants are "I put it through in Sterling to help you" or "The machine does it automatically". Even if you accept the bill in Euros some places have a way of switching it to Sterling and hope you don't notice.

eDicky

landsberger64 said:

Doshwaster said:

Starling also allows you to operate a Euro account so all of the transactions are automatically in Euros which should reduce the risk of getting stung by a dynamic currency exchange scam. 

Apparently it's triggered by the nationality of the card, not what the currency the card is denominated in.

This is true. So even when using the Starling Bank card to debit directly from your euro account there's no reduction in risk of being fleeced by the DCC scam.

landsberger64

The BIN of the card (the first 6 digits) is assigned a nationality and card machines are set up to detect this (and sometimes offer conversion). Strangely enough I have only ever been offered it in Spain at shops and restaurants, and at Euronet ATMs in Eastern Europe. If you have any credit in your Starling account, these chancers will try and use that rather than the Euro account. With the Monese account (that has a separate Euro card) the experience might be different)

It's supposed to be being restricted but someone will find a way around it.

NoodleDoodleMan

I have a Caxton FX currency card, set up in Euros - whenever I've used it in Spain it settles the bill in Euros to the precise amount presented for payment. Presumably that would be the same in Greece ?

Incidentally, recent anecdotal stuff posted hereabouts indicates that there are fewer and fewer ATMs in Greece that don't impose a usage fee for withdrawing currency, regardless of it being a "user friendly" card like Starling that is involved.

Much like Spain.

zagfles

landsberger64 said:

The BIN of the card (the first 6 digits) is assigned a nationality and card machines are set up to detect this (and sometimes offer conversion). Strangely enough I have only ever been offered it in Spain at shops and restaurants, and at Euronet ATMs in Eastern Europe. If you have any credit in your Starling account, these chancers will try and use that rather than the Euro account. With the Monese account (that has a separate Euro card) the experience might be different)

It's supposed to be being restricted but someone will find a way around it.

DCC usage various massively by country, Spain and Ireland are probably the worst places for it, never been offered it in France. In some Eastern European countries the rates are appaling.

Always watch the terminal AFTER you've tapped or entered your PIN, quite often the DCC question is asked then. If you just tap or enter your PIN and return the terminal then the waiter/retailer may answer the DCC question for you and it may not be the answer you want!