I withdrew cash at an ATM in Jordan and selected Accept Conversion because it sounded safer. Later I saw the rate was terrible. Is this normal?
Just came back from Jordan used an Al Rajhi Bank ATM near the Dead Sea and chose “Accept.” Later saw my N26 account had been charged at a much worse rate than expected. It’s the same DCC trap when you accept, the ATM applies its own exchange rate, and it’s almost always worse than what your card provider would offer. Lesson learned: always decline if you see the ATM offering to convert to your home currency.
I had this issue last month at a Jordan Kuwait Bank ATM in Aqaba. Hit “Accept,” and my Monzo card got charged in GBP with a pretty bad rate. It’s misleading because “Accept” sounds like you’re agreeing to something safe, but in reality, it’s DCC letting the ATM convert your money at an inflated rate. Always Decline Conversion and let your card issuer do the job. Travel cards like Monzo, Wise, or N26 usually offer much better exchange rates.
Same thing happened to me in Petra at a Cairo Amman Bank ATM. I accepted the conversion because it sounded like the safer option, but when I checked my Revolut statement, the rate was terrible. That’s DCC basically the ATM converts the currency instead of your card, and they sneak in extra fees through the exchange rate. I did another withdrawal later, selected Decline, and the rate was much better. From now on, I always decline.
Yes, that’s completely normal but it’s not ideal. I withdrew cash from an Arab Bank ATM in Amman and chose “Accept Conversion” the first time too. My Wise card showed I got hit with a really poor exchange rate, around 5-6% worse than expected. That’s Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) when you accept, the ATM applies its own rate with hidden markup. Always Decline so your card provider does the conversion you’ll get a much fairer rate.