Simon Calder has issued a warning to holidaymakers over a hidden charge business owners can add onto cards.
The travel expert revealed tourists “have to be aware” of dynamic currency conversion (DCC), a service that offers cardholders the option to pay in their own currency rather than the local one.
“Always go for the local currency otherwise you will be paying a lot more”, he revealed, adding he had to pay 10% extra on a recent transaction after a retailer selected the option to pay in British currency for him.
Calder stressed holidaymakers should not let the “very nice proprietor” choose the DCC option for them, as they often will select the original currency.
“He’ll just say ‘sorry it’s nothing to do with me, it’s the machine’. It isn’t, but you’re completely stuffed.”
