{"id":41925,"date":"2026-09-12T10:23:47","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T08:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/povnomad.com\/?p=41925"},"modified":"2026-09-12T10:43:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T08:43:39","slug":"atm-with-or-without-conversion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/povnomad.com\/en\/atm-with-or-without-conversion\/","title":{"rendered":"With or Without Conversion? The One ATM Screen That Costs You Money"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is one screen at a foreign ATM that costs more than a year of account fees. It politely asks whether you would like to be charged in your home currency and offers you a guaranteed exchange rate<\/em>. Accept it and you typically pay 5 to 8 percent too much<\/strong>. The correct answer is the same everywhere, at every machine, in every country: decline.<\/p>\n

The screen in question<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
ATM<\/span>Withdrawal<\/span><\/div>\n
Amount<\/em>5,000.00 CZK<\/strong><\/div>\n
Operator fee<\/em>0.00 CZK<\/strong><\/div>\n

Which currency would you like to be charged in?<\/p>\n

We offer you a guaranteed exchange rate.<\/p>\n

\n
With conversion<\/b>218.37 EUR
guaranteed rate<\/span><\/div>\n
Without conversion<\/b>5,000.00 CZK
your bank’s rate<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u2717<\/span>about \u20ac14 too much<\/span><\/div>\n
\u2713<\/span>always pick this side<\/span><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Always choose “without conversion”.<\/strong> The machine’s “guaranteed rate” typically sits 5 to 8 percent below the Visa or Mastercard rate. Illustrative figures, as of September 2026.<\/small>\n<\/div>\n

Why the “guaranteed rate” is the expensive one<\/h2>\n

The practice is called Dynamic Currency Conversion, or DCC. It is not a scam but a legitimate business model: the ATM operator converts the amount into your home currency itself and is free to set the rate. The gap to the real market rate is its profit.<\/p>\n

Decline, and something different happens: the amount is billed in local currency, and your own bank converts it at the Visa or Mastercard rate. That rate sits very close to the interbank rate and is almost always better.<\/p>\n

The word “guaranteed” is the sales pitch, not the benefit. What is guaranteed is that the rate will not change. What is not guaranteed is that it is any good.<\/p>\n

One more point that is rarely spelled out: DCC and the operator fee are two separate things.<\/strong> A machine can charge no fee at all and still make money on the conversion. That is precisely the pattern at ATMs in tourist areas.<\/p>\n

How to recognise the screen<\/h2>\n

The wording changes from machine to machine; the question never does. This table covers essentially everything you will meet:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
What the screen says<\/th>\nWhat to press<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
“With conversion” \/ “Without conversion”<\/td>\nWithout conversion<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“Accept conversion” \/ “Decline conversion”<\/td>\nDecline<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“Continue with EUR” \/ “Continue with THB”<\/td>\nthe local currency<\/strong>, here THB<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“Guaranteed exchange rate: 1 EUR = \u2026” with Yes\/No<\/td>\nNo<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“I accept the conversion rate” \/ “I decline”<\/td>\nI decline<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“Convert to your home currency?”<\/td>\nNo<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“Charge my card in EUR” \/ “\u2026 in local currency”<\/td>\nlocal currency<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“Cancel conversion” (common in Brazil)<\/td>\nCancel conversion<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The underlying rule fits in one sentence: wherever your home-currency amount appears, that is the wrong button.<\/strong> Always pick the side showing the currency of the country you are standing in.<\/small><\/p>\n

The design usually works against you. Acceptance is the large, coloured, pre-selected button; the decline sits small beside it, sometimes buried under “More options”. Take the two seconds to read before you tap.<\/p>\n

The second question: Checking, Savings or Credit<\/h2>\n

In the United States and Canada, nearly every machine asks which account to draw from. For most foreign cards there is only one right answer.<\/p>\n

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\n
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ATM<\/span>Select account<\/span><\/div>\n

Select account type<\/p>\n

Please choose the account you wish to withdraw from.<\/p>\n