I withdrew cash at an ATM in Malaysia and selected Accept Conversion because it sounded safer. Later I saw the rate was terrible. Is this normal?
Same story here. Used a RHB Bank ATM and hit Accept for EUR out of habit. Only later realised they had added their own exchange rate which was really bad. Never again. Now I tap “Decline conversion” even if it sounds confusing. My N26 card does the conversion way more fairly. I wish ATMs made it clearer that Accept means paying more.
Happened to me in Langkawi at a Public Bank ATM. The screen said “guaranteed INR amount” and I thought that meant no hidden charges. But the rate was nearly 7% worse than what my ICICI debit card would have given normally. Accepting the conversion just gives control to the ATM operator. I learned to always decline and let Visa or Mastercard apply the correct rate.
Totally normal, unfortunately. I used a CIMB ATM in Penang and hit Accept for AUD thinking it was just a confirmation. My Wise card showed a terrible exchange rate when I checked later. That “Accept conversion” option is basically a trap - they use a marked-up rate. Now I always decline it and let my card handle the conversion. The difference can be up to 10 percent.
Yeah, that’s called DCC dynamic currency conversion. I made the same mistake in Kuala Lumpur at a Maybank ATM. It asked if I wanted the amount in euros, I hit yes thinking it was clearer. Turns out they gave me 4.9 instead of the market rate of 5.2. Basically, if you accept, the ATM does the conversion and gives you a bad rate. Always choose to be charged in local currency, which is ringgit in Malaysia.