I withdrew cash at an ATM in New Zealand and selected Accept Conversion because it sounded safer. Later I saw the rate was terrible. Is this normal?
Yep, happened to me at a Kiwibank ATM in Wellington. “Accept” looked like the safe choice, but my N26 account was charged at a seriously inflated rate. DCC is the trick it offers to convert on the spot, but always at a worse rate than your bank or card provider would offer. Now I always choose Decline, especially when using travel cards like Wise, N26, or Revolut. Makes a real difference.
I used a Westpac ATM in Rotorua and pressed “Accept” because I thought it meant fewer surprises turns out that’s not the case. My Monzo card got billed in GBP at a terrible rate. That’s DCC at work sounds helpful but it’s actually letting the ATM operator convert the money at their rate, not yours. I did another withdrawal later with “Decline” and saved money. Lesson learned: always decline conversion.
Same thing happened to me at an ANZ ATM in Auckland CBD. I accepted the conversion and my Revolut statement showed a much higher total than expected. DCC is sneaky it gives you a fixed rate in your home currency, but that rate usually includes hidden fees. When I hit “Decline” on a later withdrawal, the difference in rate was noticeable. If the ATM shows your currency instead of NZD, that’s your sign to Decline.
Yes, that’s unfortunately very normal. I withdrew cash from a BNZ ATM in Queenstown and also selected “Accept” because it sounded like the secure option. Later checked my Wise app and the exchange rate was awful around 6% worse than mid-market. That’s due to Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC). It lets the ATM convert to your home currency using its own inflated rate. Always Decline Conversion so your card provider handles the exchange it's almost always cheaper.