Not another ATM Question...sort of...In previous travels, I have never incurred fees charged by the ATM or Bank in Europe, only my own Credit Union...until this trip. I searched the helpline and reviewed the FAQ, but did not readily find the following situation discussed. Anybody else run into this? We have been in Spain, and at several ATMs, after entering the amount in euros desired, a screen popped up, indicating what the exchange rate would be, with options to proceed in USD or euros. It also had a display indicating any fee and another indicating commission. The first time, it noted an exchange of $1.43, 0% Fees, 0% Commission. Other times the same, except once it did display a 2% fee. The first time I honestly was not sure what I hit, the second time I read a little closer and hit "euros". In the end, I determined that the Bank owning the ATM was graciously offering to convert the euros I requested into Dollars, and process the transaction in Dollars...at their exchange rate. Checking my transactions, I saw that the first one did go through at their noted rate, I paid no currency conversion fee from my Credit Union, but did still pay a Foriegn Transaction Fee. The second (and subsequent tranactions) where I knowingly hit "euros" went through at my banks exchange rate (basically Interbank rate) plus the currency conversion and a foriegn transaction fee (totaling about 1%). In the end, most of my transactions were as expected, but that first one cost me 3 to 4% rather than my usual ~1%. Any others run into this?
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5841 posts
Paul, What you encountered on your first transaction was known as dynamic currency conversion; the Spanish bank did the currency conversion using their exchange rate which is not necessarily the interbank rate. I encountered this in Spain last year but always chose to have the transaction in Euros. Generally, you should always choose to be billed in the local currency.
Posted by
OP
Eastern Iowa, USA
8037 posts
Yes, I am aware of Dynamic Currency Conversion, and have encountered it with Credit Cards...but never an ATM transaction. I also ran into an instance that a La Caixa ATM wanted to charge a 3 euro fee for a transaction (on 40 euro), again something I never ran into. That one I cancelled out of.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5841 posts
I cannot recall encountering this on an ATM except in Spain where it happened to me on several occasions.
Posted by
Fontainebleau, France
893 posts
I think this is what I saw in Turkey. I noticed that several "ATMs" had signs above them with notices about TL, $ and €. When I would put my ATM card in, it asked me if I wanted to take a cash advance. I thought that was odd, and cancelled out. These ATMs weren't outside of a bank branch, and tended to be just in the tourist areas. I encountered this twice in two different cities. After walking a bit, I was always able to find a bank with an ATM outside that did not ask me if I wanted a cash advance, but instead asked how much I wanted to withdraw (and no option of choosing the currency) and processed without any weird fees.
Posted by
OP
Eastern Iowa, USA
8037 posts
I did consider that it was limited to stand lone ATMs in Tourist areas, and some were, but I also experienced it on ATMs attached to banks that were well away from tourist areas. It did seem to be related to ATMs operated by Telebanco which, I believe, is the ATM arm of Banco Popular. Certainly the two I tried at the airport had this screen, the La Caixa one that warned of a fee was also at the airport (BCN).
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
DCC is basically a legalized scam. It pads the margin of the vendor or retailer - at your expense. Last year in Poland I ran into a couple of restaurants that used DCC - charging me in dollars - without having given me a choice. (The way I understand the rules, they're always supposed to give you the choice of which currency you want to be charged in.) In each case I told them to void the transaction and recharge me in zlotys. No doubt we travelers are going to be encountering this ripoff more and more often. Whenever you're given the option overseas of being charged in dollars, just say no.
Posted by
Gaston, Oregon, USA
931 posts
Wow! Paul, thanks for this post, and thanks everyone for the info. We head to Spain this May, so I'll be watching for this.