Credit Card use.

johnire

Hi
When using a credit card abroad in a non Eurozone country should I be opting to pay in the local currency or should I ask the retailer to charge me in Euro?
Which is cheaper?
Also do all retailers have the facility to change a charge to Euro?
Thanks

Atlantic Dawn

Always cheaper in the local currency.

CeilingFly

Retailer will always ask / suggest that you pay in the currency of the card 

They get 1% commission .

Exchange provider gets 2% and uses a bad exchange rate that's about 3% off mid point 


Guess who pays that 6%? 

Yep, the customer.


Standard commission from main banks is about 1.75% and the exchange rate is very close to mid rate.

Net difference is about 4%

So always pay in local currency and refuse attempts by the retailer to charge euro equivalent .

johnire

Thanks folks for the replies. You’ve been very helpful.

Wheety

Have you looked at Revolut? Very handy if you're paying for food and drinks etc. Might be more safety in using credit card if you're making big purchases and need the protection from credit card. Otherwise Revolut is great. No 'non-euro' transaction fees and a better exchange rate.

Bank of Ireland: Tara

johnire wrote: »

Hi
When using a credit card abroad in a non Eurozone country should I be opting to pay in the local currency or should I ask the retailer to charge me in Euro?
Which is cheaper?
Also do all retailers have the facility to change a charge to Euro?
Thanks

Hi johnire,

Thanks for your post.

I can see you've had some helpful replies above on this and if you've any further questions, please let us know.

Tara