Hi,
I'm reading Rick Steves "Naples & the Amalfi Coast" book. On page 160 under DCC he states "If an ATM offers to 'lock in' or 'guarantee' your conversion rate, choose 'proceed without conversion.' Other prompts might state, 'You can be charged in dollars: Press YES for dollars, NO for Euros.' Always choose the local currency." Shouldn't that be NO for dollars and Yes for Euros?
Nope - the book is stating what the screen will say.
The screen will say
You can be charged in dollars: Press YES for dollars, NO for Euros
You will then see two big coloured buttons, usually green for what they want you to do and red for what you need to do.
It is marketing, sometimes referred to as Hard Sell...
To which the correct answer is NO.
Got it now. Thanks!!
No, I think that is right.
They want you to pick dollars, that way they get to do the currency conversion, at whatever rate they choose, and make extra profit. They phrase it so the default option is dollars, and make it sound like you are turning down the deal of the century to actually charge your card just the amount of cash you got out.
The same applies to paying bills with credit cards. If the bill says €56.78, then make sure that is what the credit card terminal says, and not a Euro-cent more. If it says some amount in $, refuse to authorise the transaction until it is changed. If the bill is €56.78, they don't have the right to ask for any more.
