I used my US card in Montenegro & the ATM just asked me Charge in USD or Charge in EUR - I feel like I should choose USD coz thats the currency in my bank account but it had these super confusing numbers on the screen saying 8% markup so not sure. What should I do?
Same thing happened with my Wells Fargo card in Tivat. I picked USD without thinking and it showed a rate almost 8% worse than what XE or Wise showed for the day. Lesson learned. Next withdrawal I picked EUR and the difference was immediate - more cash in hand, no extra fees on my statement. Montenegro’s ATMs can be sneaky with these prompts so best rule of thumb: always pick local currency, even if it feels counterintuitive.
Just last week I used my US Capital One card at an NLB ATM in Budva and it asked the same thing. I almost picked USD since it seemed logical, but remembered a Reddit thread warning against it. Selected EUR instead, and checked later - the exchange rate was nearly mid-market. If I’d gone with USD, the ATM screen said there’d be a “non-refundable exchange rate” and it was like 7% worse. Always reject their conversion and let your bank handle it.
I made this mistake my first day in Montenegro. Used my Chase debit card at an Erste Bank ATM in Kotor and chose to be charged in USD because that’s what my account is in. Only later did I realize I got hit with a nasty 8.5% markup due to dynamic currency conversion. Always pick EUR if you're withdrawing in Europe. Your home bank or card provider will give you a way better exchange rate than the ATM’s conversion offer.