I withdrew cash at an ATM in El Salvador and selected Accept Conversion because it sounded safer. Later I saw the rate was terrible. Is this normal?
Just got back from El Salvador and this happened to me at a Banco Cuscatlan ATM in San Miguel. When I chose “Accept,” the ATM showed the amount in EUR and I thought that meant it was protecting me from fees. Nope. My N26 account was charged using a much worse exchange rate than the market. That’s the DCC trick. Now I always hit Decline and trust my card provider to do the conversion. Cheaper and more transparent.
Yes, that’s pretty standard especially in El Salvador where USD is already the local currency. I withdrew cash at a Scotiabank ATM in Santa Ana and chose “Accept.” My Monzo card then applied a conversion I didn’t expect, and the rate was way off. It’s misleading because there’s no currency change happening locally, but the ATM still runs DCC to squeeze out a few extra bucks. Best option: always Decline conversion, even in dollarized countries.
Same thing happened to me at a Banco Davivienda ATM near El Tunco. I used my Revolut card and selected “Accept” thinking I was avoiding extra fees but I ended up paying 5-7% more than I should’ve. That’s DCC in action. When you accept, the ATM locks in a rate in your home currency, but it’s almost always worse than what your bank or card would offer. Rule of thumb: if it shows your home currency, hit Decline.
Yes, that’s normal but it’s a common trap. I withdrew cash from a Banco Agrícola ATM in San Salvador and hit “Accept” because it sounded safer. Later, my Wise account showed a really poor exchange rate with extra hidden charges. What happened is called Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) the ATM converts your withdrawal using their own inflated rate, not your card’s. Next time, always Decline and let your card provider handle the currency conversion.