ATMs in Madagascar keep asking Accept or Decline Conversion - what does that mean? Shows high charges for this
In Tana airport (Ivato), the ATM from Banque de Madagascar et de l’Océan Indien gave me this conversion screen. I was tired and nearly pressed accept, but another traveler told me to decline. She was right-her Monzo app showed way better rates when declining. Madagascar has limited ATMs, so people think they have no choice, but always decline conversion and let your home bank or card provider handle it. It saves quite a bit.
On Sainte Marie island, the only ATM was BFV-Société Générale. It gave me the “accept conversion” choice and showed a euro total. I thought it was mandatory and pressed yes. Later checked my Wise app and saw I’d overpaid by around 10%. It’s a classic trick. Now I always decline. You’ll still get your cash in ariary, and your card provider does the exchange at normal rates. Don’t fall for the “guaranteed rate” wording.
I had the same experience in Nosy Be with a BOA Madagascar ATM. The screen wording made it look like declining was risky, but actually, declining means you pay in local currency. I pressed accept once with my Mastercard, and the rate was ridiculous. Next time I declined, and Revolut gave me the proper rate. Lesson learned-always say no to conversion in Madagascar, even if the ATM pushes “yes” as the big green button.
In Antananarivo, I used a BNI Madagascar ATM near Analakely Market. After entering my PIN, it asked if I wanted to “accept conversion” into euros. That’s DCC. If you hit accept, you get charged in euros at a marked-up rate. If you decline, you get charged in Malagasy ariary (MGA), and your own bank handles the exchange fairly. I tested both ways on a 400,000 MGA withdrawal, and accepting conversion cost me €8 more. Always decline here.