credit card charges to exchange currency?
Apr 29th 2002, 12:50 am
#16
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: credit card charges to exchange currency?
On 28 Apr 2002 13:14:28 GMT, greg byshenk <[email protected]> wrote:
>You are correct in noting that credit cards and bank cards have made travel easier,
>and indeed save time, etc.
>
>That said, the credit card companies are _already_ turning a tidy profit on
>transactions before the add-on of a few percentage points. If the transaction is a
>credit card sale, then they are _already_ making money on the transaction -- and
>they are already charging high fees for cash advances. The "standard" 1% is more
>than sufficient to cover any additional costs for currency changes (which approach
>zero per transaction). Anything over and above that is just an attempt to skim a bit
>more in a way that they hope the consumer will not notice.
It is not the credit card companies adding the charge, if by that you mean the likes
of Visa and Mastercard. It is the issuing bank that adds the charge, and there are
instituions that do not add charges, such as credit unions.
******* DAVE HATUNEN ([email protected]) *******
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * ******* My typos are
intentional copyright traps ******
>You are correct in noting that credit cards and bank cards have made travel easier,
>and indeed save time, etc.
>
>That said, the credit card companies are _already_ turning a tidy profit on
>transactions before the add-on of a few percentage points. If the transaction is a
>credit card sale, then they are _already_ making money on the transaction -- and
>they are already charging high fees for cash advances. The "standard" 1% is more
>than sufficient to cover any additional costs for currency changes (which approach
>zero per transaction). Anything over and above that is just an attempt to skim a bit
>more in a way that they hope the consumer will not notice.
It is not the credit card companies adding the charge, if by that you mean the likes
of Visa and Mastercard. It is the issuing bank that adds the charge, and there are
instituions that do not add charges, such as credit unions.
******* DAVE HATUNEN ([email protected]) *******
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * ******* My typos are
intentional copyright traps ******
Apr 29th 2002, 5:20 pm
#17
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: credit card charges to exchange currency?
"Hatunen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 28 Apr 2002 13:14:28 GMT, greg byshenk <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> >You are correct in noting that credit cards and bank cards have made travel
> >easier, and indeed save time, etc.
> >
> >That said, the credit card companies are _already_ turning a tidy profit on
> >transactions before the add-on of a few percentage points. If the transaction is a
> >credit card sale, then they are _already_ making money on the transaction -- and
> >they are already charging high fees for cash advances. The "standard" 1% is more
> >than sufficient to cover any additional costs for currency changes (which approach
> >zero per transaction). Anything over and above that is just an attempt to skim a
> >bit more in a way that they hope the consumer will not notice.
>
> It is not the credit card companies adding the charge, if by that you mean the
> likes of Visa and Mastercard. It is the issuing bank that adds the charge, and
> there are instituions that do not add charges, such as credit unions.
>
I think, if you want to be picky, VISA and MC are just clearing houses - in Europe
they certainly don't offer 'credit', they just act as an enabler for banks to 'give'
credit. In legal terms here, its the bank that holds the credit licence.
news:[email protected]...
> On 28 Apr 2002 13:14:28 GMT, greg byshenk <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> >You are correct in noting that credit cards and bank cards have made travel
> >easier, and indeed save time, etc.
> >
> >That said, the credit card companies are _already_ turning a tidy profit on
> >transactions before the add-on of a few percentage points. If the transaction is a
> >credit card sale, then they are _already_ making money on the transaction -- and
> >they are already charging high fees for cash advances. The "standard" 1% is more
> >than sufficient to cover any additional costs for currency changes (which approach
> >zero per transaction). Anything over and above that is just an attempt to skim a
> >bit more in a way that they hope the consumer will not notice.
>
> It is not the credit card companies adding the charge, if by that you mean the
> likes of Visa and Mastercard. It is the issuing bank that adds the charge, and
> there are instituions that do not add charges, such as credit unions.
>
I think, if you want to be picky, VISA and MC are just clearing houses - in Europe
they certainly don't offer 'credit', they just act as an enabler for banks to 'give'
credit. In legal terms here, its the bank that holds the credit licence.
