BEUC NEWS - 13.12.2017

It has probably happened to you if you travel: cash dispensers and payment terminals abroad giving you the dilemma of whether to pay, or withdraw money, either in your home currency or in the local currency. As the European Commission prepares to look into this business practice – called dynamic currency conversion - and potentially legislate next year, BEUC is co-organising an event in Brussels on 18 January 2018 to debate the merits and drawbacks of such a scheme which, for example, is estimated to cost British consumers around £500m every year.

For BEUC, it’s time to call a spade a spade: it’s a scam. The exchange rate used to pay in your home currency is almost always worse than ‘standard’ exchange rates. And the consumer has no way of realistically comparing the two options (paying in the local currency or in his home currency). BEUC is calling for an outright ban.

The event ‘Dynamic currency conversion: valuable service or deceptive business model?’ co-organised with the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) on 18 January 2018 will analyse the EU legal framework within which the scam operates, and possible remedies to prevent placing consumers at a disadvantage.

To register, click here. For more information on the programme and location, click here.