3.5% mark up on a uk credit card paying for meal in euro?

NOAH

Registered User
Messages
810
Went out with a friend today for a meal and they insisted on paying and used their uk credit card, it was mastercard, we were blabbing away and it was only after paying they read the receipt they noticed the following " exchan
ge rate mark up rate 3.5% " it then showed the euro exchange rate of 0.844248 and the converted amount in gb pounds. Then at bottom of receipt it had the following " I have chosen not to use the mastercard currency conversion process and agree that I will have no recourse against mastercard etc"

Neither of us had seen this before and are stumped! What is the logic for the extra charge? The mastercard rate today is .80289. Is this a new fangled way of charging a bit extra?

noah
 
next time pay in local currency, you always ripped off if you use sterling in IRELAND.



- in England they will push you to pay in Euro if they can get away with it for the same reasons as here.

Always Pay in local currency.
 
... it then showed the euro exchange rate of 0.844248 and the converted amount in gb pounds. Then at bottom of receipt it had the following " I have chosen not to use the mastercard currency conversion process and agree that I will have no recourse against mastercard etc"

...mastercard rate today is .80289.

This is something extra to watch for while travelling. It does seem your friend was given a very good rate! It seems they default to what is most favourable to the retailer. I was caught out by one of these transactions on hols lately even though I had expressly chosen to use the cc company rate rather than the holiday operator. It wasn't worth complaining about on that occasion but it was a warning.
 
it then showed the euro exchange rate of 0.844248 and the converted amount in gb pounds. Then at bottom of receipt it had the following " I have chosen not to use the mastercard currency conversion process and agree that I will have no recourse against mastercard etc"
Does this not suggest that you paid in euro and decided not to pay in sterling ? Two point to think of for future reference
1) Pay in the local currency
2) Always read what has come up on the pinpad to see what exactly you are paying
 
This is known as DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion) - it allows you to be charged in your local currency when paying abroad. The merchant 'shares' in the foreign exchange profit when it is done this way and so it is understandable why they would favour it. I'm sure there are rules that say this should be explicit, but my own experience is that it is often not. Earlier this moth in a London hotel when checking in I was asked if I'd like to be billed in pounds or euro and despite opting for pounds, it was in euro on the terminal when presented to me (which I refused to authorise). The earlier advice to check what you are being asked to pay before entering your PIN is sound.
 
Earlier this moth in a London hotel when checking in I was asked if I'd like to be billed in pounds or euro and despite opting for pounds, it was in euro on the terminal when presented to me (which I refused to authorise). The earlier advice to check what you are being asked to pay before entering your PIN is sound.

I was in a similar situation in London last week. Receptionist 'very kindly' had presented the terminal for me to pay in euro. When I declined, it was restated at the rate that I had originally booked the hotel. This was after having checked in, the hotel rate was expressed ex-VAT and therefore a third price had been displayed!!!

In the end, the difference in the cost of the room on my credit card bill was around €4; now in MY favour of course! Although these small amounts would quickly add up for the hotel...
 
Back
Top