Pay in local currency??

housebuyer143

I saw this on a MSE post and wanted to understand more. My card provider charges 2.99% so should I select to pay in pounds? 

If so, why is this better over local currency with the fee?

"If you're using a bog-standard credit or debit card, it's touch and go. Sometimes the card machine will show you the 'non-sterling cash fee'. If this is under 2.5%, go with pounds. If it's over, pick the local currency"

eskbanker

In such scenarios, the sterling rate will typically be set via Dynamic Currency Conversion, which is usually disadvantageous (to the customer) and often opaque, so will generally be a worse deal than the 2.99% loading for paying in local currency, sometimes in, say, 4-5% territory.  However, if you can see that the converted sterling amount would definitely be better than a 2.99% loading then it should be worth doing

https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2013/03/using-plastic-overseas-always-pay-in-euros-even-if-it-says-0-commission/

eDicky

Why not obtain a fee-free card (or two) for non-sterling use, then you can be sure of considerably lower cost by paying in local currency..? There are plenty now, see the MSE advice articles.

In general the DCC conversion rate offered by a local bank/merchant is worse than the markup of even the worst fees imposed by a UK card provider.

housebuyer143

eDicky said:

Why not obtain a fee-free card (or two) for non-sterling use, then you can be sure of considerably lower cost by paying in local currency..? There are plenty now, se the new advice articles.

In general the DCC conversion rate offered by a local bank/merchant is worse than the markup of even the worst fees imposed by a UK card provider.

Thanks. I'm going away tomorrow so too late now, but will next time I go. Didn't know they were a thing. 

NoodleDoodleMan

If you live near a convenient MetroBank store they can issue a "user friendly" no fees debit card on the day of a visit.

Not worldwide fee free - but most of the usual suspect tourist haunts in Europe except Turkey.

Remember the bank ATM will most likely take a fee, regardless of whose card you use to withdraw cash.

If Spain and the Canaries is your thing - a Santander Everyday Current account provides a totally fee free debit card when used at Santander branded ATMs.

bigfer

NoodleDoodleMan said:

If you live near a convenient MetroBank store they can issue a "user friendly" no fees debit card on the day of a visit.

Not worldwide fee free - but most of the usual suspect tourist haunts in Europe except Turkey.

Remember the bank ATM will most likely take a fee, regardless of whose card you use to withdraw cash.

If Spain and the Canaries is your thing - a Santander Everyday Current account provides a totally fee free debit card when used at Santander branded ATMs.

Its been a long time since i went to the canaries so I apologise if i am going over old ground. I have a 123 Lite Santander current account, would this allow fee free withdrawals at Santander ATMs? TIA

NoodleDoodleMan

bigfer said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

If you live near a convenient MetroBank store they can issue a "user friendly" no fees debit card on the day of a visit.

Not worldwide fee free - but most of the usual suspect tourist haunts in Europe except Turkey.

Remember the bank ATM will most likely take a fee, regardless of whose card you use to withdraw cash.

If Spain and the Canaries is your thing - a Santander Everyday Current account provides a totally fee free debit card when used at Santander branded ATMs.

Its been a long time since i went to the canaries so I apologise if i am going over old ground. I have a 123 Lite Santander current account, would this allow fee free withdrawals at Santander ATMs? TIA

Yes.

Shouldn't be too difficult to locate an ATM if you Google using relevant wording.

A Santander Zero credit card is likewise fee free at their branded ATMs to withdraw cash.

NoodleDoodleMan

A word of caution, although I expect the issue will have been fixed by now.

A few years ago Santander (Spain) took over a failing rival and started to rebrand their ATMs to Santander.

https://www.ft.com/content/4cf8a400-4b4b-11e7-a3f4-c742b9791d43

There were reports of Santander UK debit cards not enjoying the fee free benefit.

I had a similar(ish) problem in Mallorca, kept the print out receipt - Santander UK credited the fee back to my account with minimal fuss.

soolin

NoodleDoodleMan said:

If you live near a convenient MetroBank store they can issue a "user friendly" no fees debit card on the day of a visit.

Not worldwide fee free - but most of the usual suspect tourist haunts in Europe except Turkey.

Remember the bank ATM will most likely take a fee, regardless of whose card you use to withdraw cash.

If Spain and the Canaries is your thing - a Santander Everyday Current account provides a totally fee free debit card when used at Santander branded ATMs.

I have a Metro bank account purely for use overseas, I have both a debit and credit card and although I took them at separate times (debit first as that was all they offered in their first few weeks) I’ve always got my card on the same day. 

Just got back from the Canaries and was very pleasantly surprised at the conversion rate, my holiday spending was a fair bit less than I budgeted for. 

Doshwaster

Got to be careful with ATM fees in Spain as they can vary from zero to €5-6 per withdrawl.

In my recent experience the following are free with a Starling card: Banca March, Deutsche Bank and Unicaja. Santander wanted to charge me €6 so I declined their offer. Also avoid any of those standalone machines you see ("Eurocash" or similar) which always charge a fee.

NoodleDoodleMan

Yes, Santander to be avoided unless you have their UK debit card.