I withdrew cash at an ATM in Belgium and selected Accept Conversion because it sounded safer. Later I saw the rate was terrible. Is this normal?
I’ve been riding Belgian public transport since late June. First I tried using my DNB Mastercard on Brussels metro and it worked instant tap and go. Later I jumped on a TEC bus in Walloon Brabant and they had a card reader but it kept glitching for foreigners so I paid with 50 cent coins. At Mons station I used Belfius ATM to grab coins easily. All in all card works in metros and trams city-wide. For buses it’s hit or miss so carry a small amount of coins.
I was in Bruges last month and used a Belfius ATM with my Charles Schwab debit card. It asked me to accept conversion and I figured yeah that sounds safer right. Nope. Turns out the ATM gave me a locked in rate that was way lower than what Schwab would have given me on its own. Lesson learned. When in Europe always decline conversion when an ATM or store asks. It’s called Dynamic Currency Conversion and it almost always favors the ATM operator not you.
Exact same thing happened when I took out cash at an Bancontact ATM near Leuven station. It offered a rate that looked fine on the screen and said accept conversion so I thought sure why not. Later I looked at my Galicia Mastercard statement and realized I got ripped off by around 7 percent compared to the actual rate that day. Total rookie mistake. Now I always hit decline conversion and trust my bank’s exchange rate. Way less markup and fewer hidden charges.
Yeah that happened to me in Antwerp last month. I used a BNP Paribas Fortis ATM and it asked me if I wanted to accept conversion. I clicked yes because it sounded safer or official. But when I checked my Commerzbank Visa account later, the rate was way worse than the market one. Basically I lost about 6 percent just on that decision. Next time always decline the conversion and let your home bank handle it. It sounds backwards but declining gives you a better rate almost every time.
When using ING ATMs, pick Decline Conversion if prompted. Its the best way to avoid paying more than you should.