Avant credit card currency charges

P

Palerider

Registered User
Messages
1,501
Like most I use my Avantcard to make online purchases, recently ( since March 2019 ) I noticed the following charges under two headings as indicated below for transactions done online for uk purchase.
" Foreign currency fee "
" Issuer mark up assessment "

I called and they say these are the same charges with this currency fee being previously incorporated at 2.65% of the transaction value but now they show this separate to the actual transaction.

I made an online purchase from a company in NI in sterling, the conversion came to €360 and they applied a fee of €9.57 on top, I actually had the option to pay that purchase in Euro but didn't.

They say this was always there, I'm suspicious and not happy with a stealth charge that I have not seen previously, anybody have similar experiences.
 
Not exclusive to AvantCard.
There was a change recently implemented for an EU directive on transparency, so all the banks are showing the charges separately now. It looks more when you see it broken out!
 
This is a very welcome new law that makes FX fees clear and transparent. FX fees were previously buried inside transactions and far from clear.

Hopefully the transparency drives more people to use Revolut etc.
 
Thanks for the replies, my understanding was that they set the rates and there were no other fees/commissions so there you go, another day at school for me..

I will check comparable PayPal fees and maybe get a revolut or similar card as I do make online purchases and I want to avoid these additional fees.

If I use a MasterCard debit card do the commissions apply or are they just on credit card transactions.
 
There are charges on both Debit & credit cards, but might be at different rates.
I always used PayPal until @CiaranT pointed out to me how bad the rates are. Revolut only for the last year for me.
 
Charges refunded by Avantcard and Revolut card ordered just now, I won't get caught again but many will.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top