Tipping and DCC

Thanks. To all those saying you only need credit cards, cash still has its uses to avoid this. Swiss banks are very clever, and have apparently found a new way to generate fees. You have to always insist that you are in Switzerland, and Swiss Francs are the legal currency and that you pay bills in Swiss Francs, not USD.

No-one is forcing you to do anything - DCC is common in many countries, particularly in areas popular with tourists. The terminal offers a choice of currency, so just select the local currency. You don't need to pay cash to avoid DCC, and paying by card in the local currency generally results in a better exchange rate than changing cash.

"Swiss banks are very clever, and have apparently found a new way to generate fees."

Again, this is by no means unique to Switzerland, it's not new, and it's not the banks forcing it upon anyone - merchants can choose whether or not to offer DCC. If they do, merchant, card issuer, card network and card acquirer all receive a share of the margin.

Tipping can be activated on card readers, but can be declined. Yes, you should always look at the screen before tapping, the same way you would at home.

That's frustrating. I didn't encounter either when we were in Zurich last May. I especially hate the tipping culture invading another country.

The terminal offers a choice of currency, so just select the local currency.

That is not my understanding of the OP's message. It was not offering you a choice, but automatically knowing that the card is tied to a US bank and therefore automatically charges you in USD. Instead of giving you a choice, it makes the choice for you, requiring you to stop and instruct the operator to change it back to CHF.

A few years ago, when paying a rather large hotel bill in Switzerland, the clerk put the amount down in USD, because she knew that I was American. When I objected, she said "Well, I just assumed you would want to be charged in your home currency". I had to explain to her that that would cost me extra.
She had no idea.

Sam has it right. This post was to note what is now happening on card readers here and can be easily missed be by those careless or unsuspecting. Note Switzerland is not in the EU, and follows their own path. I will be very surprised to see this pattern when we transfer to Italy for the remainder of the trip.

But Sam, the choice is still yours. In this case, you can switch to Swiss francs. You just need to read the screen instead of blindly tapping. Something you (generic you, not you specifically) should be doing all the time anyway. Are you aware that DCC is just as prevalent in the US as it is almost everywhere else in the world? As for tips, that's why I carry cash and just enter 0 on any tips line.

I did not say I had no choice, CJean. Just a comment on the sneaky way it apparently is now being done.

or maybe the wait staff if pushing the USD button before it gets shown to you.