How to avoid the 13% surcharge at ATMs in Portugal

Are you aware of dynamic currency conversion?
Recently you have to say NO on 2 separate screens to avoid being charged in dollars (and the resultant fee).
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/cash-machine-atm-tips

Thanks Liz however I did not see the info you’re referring to in the link you provided. I have been selecting no to do you agree with this conversion rate so maybe I’m avoiding the 13% surcharge. Appreciate your input. I don’t recall seeing that last time I travelled internationally but that was 2019 pre COVID lol

Well, this advice is coming a bit late, but it could help you on your next trip. The solution to all ATM surcharges is simply to get a debit card/account that reimburses you any fees charged by ATMS worldwide. Charles Schwab investor checking is widely used by forum members for this purpose.

"Dynamic Currency Conversion" aka DCC is everywhere, worldwide, it's persistent and pervasive. It can (and does) appear anywhere a credit or debit card is used that might involve a foreign currency conversion.

DCC is the "spam" or telemarketer call of financial transactions: unwanted, deceptive, scammy, and a major annoyance, a sneaky fish-hook baited and hoping to catch someone who's just unaware, distracted, not paying close attention.

Watch out for DCC anytime you are paying for anything, anywhere, including when pulling cash from an ATM (but also on every other potential bill from your dinner to your hotel to a gas station to a grocery store to a cup of coffee).

You should always be offered the option to decline this so-called "convenience". Just keep answering NO and it should eventually just take your #%*! money and stop pestering you (until the next time you pay for something). Don't let your guard down.

Wow thank you both so much! I don’t know how I’ve been so ignorant for so long about this. I don’t recall seeing anything in the Rick Steves travel book I have. Charles Schwab sounds like the way to go thank you again!!

To clarify, there could be two different things going on: 1) DCC, or 2) Your ATM card (and your bank) just has a horrible, mafia-esque, loan-shark foreign conversion rate. God help you if you encounter both.

DCC is a "convenience" fee offered to those who either don't care/aren't paying attention/don't understand the basics of foreign money conversion.

Every time you (a foreigner with a foreign credit or debit card) pay for something or withdraw money, somebody somewhere is going to do the conversion from (presumably) dollars to the local currency. Typically VISA (the credit card company) handles this, and they charge a flat 1% for the service (even for banking institutions that say they charge zero - they mean they're charging zero on top of the actual interchange fee).

If you have a credit or debit card that charges zero FTF (foreign transaction fee) - and there are MANY that charge zero FTF (I have several, not including the brand mentioned above) - then your dollars-to-whatever conversion is done at no additional charge (VISA always takes their 1%). If, however, you do not have a zero-FTF card, then you're going to pay a foreign transaction fee, which is typically around 3%. 3% isn't going to kill you when you're buying a gelato or a cup of coffee, but 3% will move the needle on trip costs if you use it a lot (especially for things like hotels and lots of fancy meals).

Many people have zero-FTF cards and save a bunch of money that way (many banks and local credit unions offer zero-FTF cards, if you don't have one, ask around). You might even have one and not know it - ask your bank/credit union. Note that many Big Name banks (household names with lots of ads on TV) typically do charge FTFs, unless you have one of their cards that doesn't. You should know if yours does or doesn't long before you pack your bags.

DCC is a whole other thing. It's a (very large) cost imposed for your "convenience" ON TOP OF  whatever FTF your card might be charging you or on a zero FTF card - it's only a "convenience" if you are too tired or confused or lazy to "think in Euros" or whatever the local currency. DCC has nothing to do with whatever your card/bank charges you for foreign conversion, it's just a "junk fee" on top.

In addition to all that, the owner of any ATM always has the option of charging you a single-use fee for the use of their machine. Typically this is a fixed amount, eg €2 or €3, not a percentage. Some banks (your bank, not the ATM owner) may reimburse you for these ATM fees.

That you are seeing it expressed as a percentage makes me suspect it's DCC rearing its ugly head, not an actual FTF and not a per-use ATM fee. Also the fact that it's asking you if you want this "convenience" or not screams DCC.

If you say NO and the ATM still gives you money, it was DCC, and you just beat it. If you say NO and it just says "fine, pound sand" and doesn't give you any cash, then it was probably not DCC, it's just a bank/ATM charging too much. 13% is incredibly high, like Don Corleone high. Run, Forest, run!

Hope that is helpful.

So incredibly helpful! I do have credit union ATM card that doesn’t charge fees. I tried to paste a screen shot of what I’m seeing but it’s not working. It is titled a 13.9% markup so maybe different than a conversion fee?
I SO appreciate all of this insight I do feel ripped off. When I checked my credit union account I am definitely being charged this fee despite my decline on the conversion. Is all of EU or just Portugal?

Debit cards from Fidelity also reimburse ATM fees (at least 5 per month if I remember correctly)

Many ATMS in Portugal do charge high fees - Euronet is one name you should avoid. Only go to a bank ATM

https://www.portugalist.com/portugal-atms-guide/

Just to maybe clarify some points...

If the screen indicated to you that the "Markup" will be 13.9%, then that is DCC, not a fee, not your bank's "conversion rate", and likely not even the ATM fee of the machine you are using.

In the last couple years sometime, EU regulations (possibly individual countries, but seems to be occurring in many EU countries) meant that when DCC is offered, they need to tell you what the markup is. You did right in declining, if you did it correctly, and navigated what is now both questions more and more, then you were not charged any extra for conversion. In DCC they are offering to change from Dollars to Euros, but at a steep rate, taking you from an ATM transaction, to a Currency Exchange Service. An ATM transaction would just dispense euros, maybe charge a small fee, and that is it, nothing to do with Dollars. Different ATMs, for a straight ATM transactions do not have different conversion rates.

You did pay a conversion fee, likely handled by Mastercard or Visa networks depending on your card. You paid somewhere around 1%, you may not even notice if you compared to the published interbank rate.

You mentioned you have a no fee credit union card, others do pay a flat out-of-network fee and a Foreign Transaction Fee (FTF), typically around 3%, but your bank itself likely does not handle the conversion.

But the ATM you used would know nothing of the network conversion fee or any fees your bank charges. It can only tell you the fees and DCC it charges. Charles Schwab does reimburse ATM fees, but it does not reimburse you if you opt for DCC, since that is no longer an ATM transaction (By declining DCC, you may have still paid a 3 euro fee or so)

If you have online access to your account, you can go in and see what was deducted in Dollars, then use the Interbank Rate for the day to compare how you did.

1) Make sure you are using a “Multibanco”. They have an “MB” symbol like this. Do not use the Euronet ATMs.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multibanco

2) As mentioned above, reject the dynamic currency conversion.

Thank you all! Don’t recall this being so complicated last time I travelled to the EU - went to Italy in 2019. I so appreciate your detailed help. Sending you all a virtual hug

One thing I learned to do before a trip to Europe is to go through most recent 6 months worth of threads on corresponding RS forum.

It does take few hours as information is scattered and like so many posts in this particular thread most posts are well meaning but some inaccurate.

I got saved by tips and warnings on this forum about Euronet ATM and suggestion to use Multibanco ATM and hit "Reject" twice.

There was a thread specific about this topic about a month ago with instructions with eye catching title of
Heads Up: Portugal ATM machines warning/tips

@jbeighle,
Sorry that you missed this thread (posted within last month or so).

One thing to clarify is that neither Charles Schwab nor Fidelity will be of much help. Both companies specifically mention DCC and clearly state that they will NOT reimburse you for the mistake of opting for bad FX rate. They will only reimburse actual ATM fees which I believe are zero with Portuguese MB machines

TravelJunkie, what a good idea to look at older but recent posts as you plan your trip. I wish more people would. Some topics are repeated (what feels like) constantly. Also, selecting “all topics” instead of a specific topic on the forum home page lists a lot more overall information.

Agree.
Search function is not one of the strength of RS forum platform.

A while back someone had posted some tricks for searching as usual I can't find it (pun intended).

Making some threads sticky would be nice too. For some reason only sticky on this forum is one about Azores