Currency conversion

[DimitriosL]

Does anyone know if there are extra fees for paying invoices in different currency? For example, there were coins  that I liked in a previous leunumismatic auction but I had second thoughts about the conversion process. My country uses the euro. 

[AussieCollector]

Your bank will always charge you more, or PayPal, or whoever. There is no escaping it.

[DimitriosL]

48 minutes ago, AussieCollector said:

Your bank will always charge you more, or PayPal, or whoever. There is no escaping it.

Damn, that's a big let down. Do you remember any particular percentage per chance, to get an idea?

[AussieCollector]

51 minutes ago, DimitriosL said:

Damn, that's a big let down. Do you remember any particular percentage per chance, to get an idea?

For me, converting for Australians dollars, it's been about 5%

[Kaleun96]

51 minutes ago, DimitriosL said:

Damn, that's a big let down. Do you remember any particular percentage per chance, to get an idea?

It depends on your bank, or which ever payment service you use, e.g.

PayPal: you can either let PayPal do the conversion (terrible rates) or let your bank do the conversion (probably better but need to ask your bank)

Direct card payment: your bank is likely doing the conversion unless it converts the invoice total to your own currency during checkout, in which case the payment service is likely doing the conversion at their own rates

Wise: the best option, they charge a fee but much less than banks or payment services and they tell you exactly how much it will cost upfront

[Herodotus]

The best option is to pay the invoice with a credit card that does not charge a currency conversion fee -- IE. Capital One(U.S. issued card) has no foreign currency conversion charges.  I can't speak for what cards may be available abroad that offer the same service.

That stated, many auction houses will still charge a payment processing fee(usually around 4%*).

Of note, PayPal gives the option of having them do the conversion(at an unfavorable rate), or to have the credit card being used for the transaction to do the conversion -- the better option if it offers no/or a nominal conversion fee.

 

*This processing fee can be somewhat offset if the credit card is a rewards card that offers 'points' or 'cash back' for purchases.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Herodotus

[Kaleun96]

Quote

The best option is to pay the invoice with a credit card that does not charge a currency conversion fee -- IE. Capital One(U.S. issued card) has no foreign currency conversion charges

I could be wrong here but something you'll want to check is the exchange rates offered by the bank. They may not have any additional fees for the conversion itself but they could be using a conversion rate that nets them money on the transaction, essentially what PayPal is doing.

Wise has a small fee but the conversion rates are often pretty good, often better than what many banks offer. Since fees and conversion rates differs from bank to bank, and country to country, the best option is for each person to look into their specific circumstances to work out what's cheapest or best.

[ominus1]

the 2nd law of thermodynamics also applies to the conversion of money...^^

[Sol_Invictus]

Even for credit or bank cards that charge no foreign transaction fees they still use a payment network that applies its own conversion rate. If you are using a Visa credit card to make the payment you can see their daily exchange rate at This link This rate is fixed for the day and you can compare it to the rate you would get from wise.com

[Severus Alexander]

I've found that Wise is virtually always the cheapest option. Not to mention convenient!

[SteveJBrinkman]

3 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

I've found that Wise is virtually always the cheapest option. Not to mention convenient!

I agree.  And really easy to use once you setup your bank credentials.  A few auction firms charge a wire transfer fee, but I'm told this is waved with Wise.

[DLTcoins]

When choosing a payment method, I always consider the level of protection offered if the item is lost, stolen or not as described. "Penny-wise" can sometimes be "pound-foolish", as the saying goes.