I just encountered this new Uber option - Preferred Currency. It allows payment of Uber rides in US dollars rather than local currency - of course, at a convenience fee as with dynamic currency conversion options. I did a quick search; I didn't notice any other posts on the subject, but forgive me if I missed one (or two).
As a world-wide Uber user, I don't want to be charged the fee and have already set my app to "no preferred currency".
Always choose to pay in the local currency or you will likely pay at least 5% more for DCC.
How enterprising for Uber to ask its customers if they want to pay in any currency other than the coin of the realm— the Euro.
Too bad Uber doesn’t legally have to disclose how much more it will cost its customers for the “convenience.”
Thanks for the cautionary note.
I appreciate your warning. I’ve never used Uber outside of the U.S. and not even much here, but it’s possible that I will on my upcoming trip to Australia (if they have it there) and our trip to Europe later in the year. I went into my settings and changed it to No Preferred Currency.
I was in Australia on 3 different occasions in 2018 and 2019. (Becoming a long time ago now!)
I used Uber in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Cairns, Bendigo, Ballarat, Brisbane. Uber was convenient and widely available back then. I had some interesting conversations with a couple of my drivers. I hope the situation hasn't changed!
How enterprising for Uber to ask its customers if they want to pay in
any currency other than the coin of the realm— the Euro.
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden and the 20 or so European countries not in the EU would disagree with your insinuation.
Too bad Uber doesn’t legally have to disclose how much more it will
cost its customers for the “convenience.”
Not a true statement. Actually, EDIT, I went back and did a little reading. Uber will show you the local currency cost and the exchange rate before you pay. It will cost you the exchange rate plus 1.5% service fee. So, if the rate is comparable with what the credit card companies give (dont know) then the additional cost is 1.5% which many are already paying in foreign transaction fees. So, a breakeven maybe. Dont know. Still not something I would do.
If you pay in local currency and the bill is 6.000ft, then that is the time when you truly and actually do not know what it is going to cost. The customer will not know what it is costing until the bill reaches his bank and he goes and looks; so i think you logic is backward. Compared to the $18.45 the customer will be very happy he choose the local currency once he does see it.
This is just more DCC and just like with every other vendor, generally a good idea to pay in the local currency.
I'm glad so many here have had positive experiences with Uber. I've been left waiting for so many drivers who never arrived that I now refuse to use them. Shank's mare has proven more desirable and reliable for me.
Thank you for posting about this.
From the article:
“If you choose to pay in the local currency, your bank or payment method provider may charge a conversion fee higher or lower than 1.5 percent and additional foreign transaction fees may apply," Uber acknowledges,
If I understand this correctly it would be saving me money since my credit card charges me 2.5%. On the other hand, the most expensive Uber fare I took last year out of country was €14. 1.5% = €.21.
Allan, but Uber isn't clear about the exchange rate they are using, so you could still get hurt there. But they say on the Uber site that you will be shown the local charge and the exchange rate. There is too much math for me on a $10 taxi fare.
I believe Mr. E is mistaken in assuming a European transaction charged in US dollars (via DCC) will not trigger the credit card foreign-usage fee. It's my understanding that fee (if the credit card charges one) will still be imposed. So now you're potentially paying two fees/charges:
WSJ flagged this as well. Buyer beware.
And in a related note, I was watching an episode of Les Frenchies where they were talking about transpo options in Paris. They reminded that while Uber is convenient and easy to use, taxis are also simple with the G7 app and they have the advantage of being able to use the bus/taxi lanes.
acraven, you could be correct. Don't know. But you aren't correcting me, you are correcting the article.
I'm sorry, Mr. E; I read this as your speculation rather than as info gleaned from an article:
"Uber will show you the local currency cost and the exchange rate before you pay. It will cost you the exchange rate plus 1.5% service fee. So, if the rate is comparable with what the credit card companies give (dont know) then the additional cost is 1.5% which many are already paying in foreign transaction fees. So, a breakeven maybe. Dont know. Still not something I would do."
I posted something a while ago:
"I was calling customer service for my Citibank Mastercard to find out about the Foreign Transaction fees on my particular card. I have not used it overseas before and information is absent online. The fee is 3% per transaction But, *the rep told me that if I chose to have the merchant charge in USD (i.e., DCC) there would be no foreign transaction fee . . . ".
So there's some corroboration on this point. I was expecting to test this out in Czechia last September, but surprisingly, I was not given a DCC option on any of the CC transactions I had.
Acraven, read Allan's post prior to mine for the context of mine. I really do not know the answer but if Allan's assumption based on the text of the article is correct, this is a 1% discussion after a lot of math and a conversion rate assumption. Best just to pay in the local currency.
I don't like the Uber idea I only got involved because of some reckless comments.
Stan's info is different from what I have read, and I'll concede that it could be correct, because I do not work in the financial industry.
It's not at all unusual to find incorrect financial information online, and that may have happened to me. Unfortunately, it is also common to be misinformed by customer service folks when you call a financial institution, and that could have happened to Stan.
I really think I'm correct. Forbes agrees with me: https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/foreign-transaction-fees/#:~:text=A%20foreign%20transaction%20fee%20is%20a%20fee%20charged,between%201%25%20and%205%25%20of%20the%20purchase%20amount.
If I'm right and you cannot avoid a credit-card foreign transaction fee on a European purchase (unless you have a no-fee card), accepting DCC and the attendant poor exchange rate is always going to cost extra money.
Solution approach: take a metered taxi and pay cash.
acraven, yes, being misinformed by customer service is always a possibility, anytime, anywhere. In this case, I asked a couple of clarifying questions to make sure he understood what I was asking, and of course its only one provider. I'll give testing another shot this year, but I still accept the advice not to use DCC.
Thanks, Stan; I've been curious about this for a long time and would like to have the question answered definitively.
A few years ago I returned from a trip to Europe to find I had received a letter from Capital One, advising me either my ATM card or my credit card (don't remember which) would impose foreign-usage fees in the future. I had seen quite recent references on this forum to fee-free Capital One cards, so I was puzzled. I happened to be walking past a Capital One storefront office a few days later, so I stopped in to talk to them. Both people in the office assured me I had mis-read the letter (which I didn't have with me) and didn't need to worry about fees. They were wrong. They were thinking about the 360 accounts, not the older accounts. I needed to open a new account to retain the no-fee benefit.
In my experience, you will rarely be wrong if you assume a financial institution will interpret its policies in a manner to its own benefit, rather than yours.
