That “pay in your own currency” button costs real money.
ATMs, card terminals and checkouts abroad offer to convert for you at a marked-up rate. Consumer studies across Europe measured 2.6% to 13.7% hidden in that convenience. Compare both options with ECB reference rates and press the right key.
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The screen never says “DCC”.
It says helpful things. These are the real wordings machines and terminals use, and the one answer that is always right: the local currency, without conversion.
CONTINUE WITH OR WITHOUT CONVERSION?
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO PAY?
Also sold as: “guaranteed exchange rate”, “fixed amount in your home currency”, “know exactly what you pay”, “convenient conversion”. The certainty is real: you’re certain to pay the markup.
What the markup typically is
The ranges below are what field tests actually measured; the slider defaults are our starting assumptions and you can override every number. In the EU, ATMs and card terminals have had to show the markup over the ECB rate since 19 April 2020, on payments in an EU currency only. When a screen shows you that percentage, use “exact” mode. Where each of these figures comes from.
| Where | Our default | Measured range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATM withdrawal | ≈ 7% | 2.6 – 19% | 2.6 to 12% across 13 countries (BEUC, 2017), 13.7% peak (Stiftung Warentest, 2019), 19.0% at a Prague operator (Měšec.cz, 2026). |
| Card terminal (POS) | ≈ 3.5% | 2 – 5% | In-store card payments (BEUC, 2017). Hotels, restaurants and tourist retail sit at the top; staff sometimes pick for you, so check the slip. |
| Online checkout | ≈ 4% | not measured | We found no field study measuring e-commerce DCC markups, so the default is a placeholder. What a currency toggle at checkout actually is. |
Sources: the BEUC position paper of 30 October 2017, reporting Stiftung Warentest's 2016 test (2.6% to 12% at ATMs, 2% to 5% in store); Stiftung Warentest's 2019 test (usually more than 5%, peaking at 13.7%); Měšec.cz's April 2026 Czech ATM test (6.51% to 19.00%); and Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2021/1230, which codified the disclosure rule introduced by Regulation (EU) 2019/518. Details on the methodology page.
Know your destination
Where DCC actually shows up, what ATMs charge, and the exact refusal phrase in the local language, for 30 destinations.
The refusal card
“Charge me in local currency, please” in 40 languages. Show your phone or print it wallet-size.
Open the card → GuideATM fees, mastered
Operator fees, your bank’s fees, network margins and DCC: the four separate charges and how to minimise each.
Read the guide → GuideRefusing DCC, step by step
Every screen you’ll meet at ATMs and terminals, what to press, and what to do when it goes wrong.
Read the guide →The zero-fee setup
Declining DCC saves the markup; a card with no foreign-transaction fee saves the rest. Together they get you within a fraction of a percent of the mid-market rate on every payment abroad.
Carry a no-FX-fee card
Multi-currency cards such as Wise ↗ or Revolut ↗ convert at or near the mid-market rate with low, disclosed fees, and many banks offer travel credit cards with the FX fee set to zero. Any of them beats a 3% legacy card, and the local-currency habit costs nothing either way.
The two cards above are editorial recommendations, not partner links. NoDCC carries labelled partner links inside two guides: the refusal guide and the ATM fee guide. Declining DCC stays free and needs no card.
Asked constantly
Is it ever better to accept DCC?
Almost never. The only theoretical case is a card that waives its foreign-transaction fee for home-currency billing while charging it otherwise (a rare setup), combined with a low DCC markup. Run your exact numbers in the calculator above; the receipt will tell you honestly.
The cashier already pressed “convert”. Now what?
Before you sign or enter your PIN, you can ask them to void it and re-run in local currency, since card-network rules require that DCC be your choice. After completion, ask the merchant to reverse it, and keep the receipt: it must show the markup and that you “agreed”, which is grounds for a dispute if you didn’t.
Does paying in local currency dodge my bank’s foreign fee?
No. That fee is separate and usually applies to any transaction at a foreign merchant, whatever the currency. Declining DCC avoids the merchant-side markup; a no-FX-fee card avoids the bank-side fee. Do both.