# MBNA credit card- exchange rate



## yop (8 Nov 2007)

Guys, 
I paid through PayPal using my MBNA credit card this morning the sum of £931.99 GBP

If you check google 


its 1338.2437 Euros or XE

931.99 GBP                           = 1,335.44 EUR 
United Kingdom Pounds               Euro  
1 GBP = 1.43289 EUR                 1 EUR = 0.697891 GBP 

So how the hell can MBNA take the total as: 1,374!!!!

Before I ring them, any idea why?


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## ClubMan (8 Nov 2007)

_MBNA _like all other _CC _providers will also charge a foreign exchange margin of c. 1.75%+. I wonder if they're *also *charging the non € purchase fee of 2.65% mentioned on www.itsyourmoney.ie? Check your card terms & conditions to see what charges apply. In addition to this there's no guarantee that the _Google/XE _rates bear any resemblance to the one that _MBNA _used (e.g. _XE _quotes a range of rates not all of which are relevant to "retail" transactions).


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## yop (8 Nov 2007)

Any credit card who dont charge all these fees I wonder? 

Thanks Clubman


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## ClubMan (8 Nov 2007)

I doubt that any _CC _provider will charge no forex margin on non € transactions. Some will levy transaction charges that others do not. See www.itsyourmoney.ie for a brief summary.


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## bond-007 (8 Nov 2007)

yop said:


> Guys,
> I paid through PayPal using my MBNA credit card this morning the sum of £931.99 GBP
> 
> If you check google
> ...


That is their rate. They now will add another 1.75% when the transaction is settled in 24 to 48 hours. Just watch out for that.

Come back here when the transaction has been finalised and tell you what you were charged. I bet it will be more than 1374.


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## DublinTexas (8 Nov 2007)

It might not be MBNA in this scenario making the money from your transaction.

If you made the payment in Paypal in £ with your linked € card than Paypal determines the currency exchange rate, i.e. they charge your € card in € not £.

Look into your paypal account, you should see 2 lines for the same transaction, one is the £ payment to who ever you made it and one is the € payment from your card.

They should read something like: Currency Conversion (debit) and Currency Conversion (credit).

If however Paypal charged your card in £ than MBNA will charge you the amount converted to Visa (or Mastercards) daily exchange rate plus the conversion fee that is applicable for your card (look in your T&C's).

Using XE to determine the exchange rate for your credit card is a bad idea, because the rates they do (while nice if you use them for money transfers) are flexible throughout the day as the market demand is. The Visa rate is fixed at some point during the business day and than used (plus the 1% markup of Visa in Europe if I remember right).


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## ClubMan (8 Nov 2007)

bond-007 said:


> That is their rate. They now will add another 1.75% when the transaction is settled in 24 to 48 hours. Just watch out for that.
> 
> Come back here when the transaction has been finalised and tell you what you were charged. I bet it will be more than 1374.


How does that work? With my _PTSB VISA _once I see transactions on my account (online) then that's it and they don't change subsequently - at least that's my experience to date.


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## bond-007 (9 Nov 2007)

The value often changes whilst the item is pending. Once it appears on the statement the value is finalised.


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## yop (9 Nov 2007)

DublinTexas said:


> It might not be MBNA in this scenario making the money from your transaction.
> 
> If you made the payment in Paypal in £ with your linked € card than Paypal determines the currency exchange rate, i.e. they charge your € card in € not £.
> 
> ...



I had a look at that, for some odd reason PayPal charged my card in GBP, not Euro which they have done in nearly all other GBP transaction before, where they did as you said a "Currency Conversion (debit) and Currency Conversion (credit)"

I wonder why they did it this way, odd.

The transaction is still no completed on my CC so I will await more "fees"

Thanks guys


************************
Sorry just an add on to this, one other transaction went through the exact same as the 1 above there in October, MBNA charged 2.5% on top of what I had it converted from. 

Now is it cheaper do you think to pay the 2.5% to MBNA or can I force PAYPAL to convert and charge the card in Euro?

Thanks


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## bond-007 (9 Nov 2007)

AFAIK Paypal now only charge in the local currency and your CC company do the conversion.


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