Are there any Australian customers that are NOT being charged an Australian Dollar to Australian Dollar currency conversion fee by their bank/credit card provider? Are there customers outside the USA and the UK who also are NOT being charged a currency conversion fee?
I received my first Summary of Current Charges and compared it to my credit card statement and I was surprised to see that although the monthly subscription fee is billed as AUD I was charged a AUD to AUD conversion fee of 3%.
I spoke to my bank (Westpac) and they said that is because I am actually being billed by Garmin Europe Ltd on a "merchant terminal" based in the UK. Westpac said that Garmin Europe is not using the merchant terminal the right way. Although Garmin is entering the amount as AUD (as shown on my credit card statement) they are doing something else so that MasterCard adds a 3% fee to "convert" it from AUD to AUD.
Of course, when I spoke to Garmin Australia, they said it was my bank/credit card provider that is at fault. They went on to say that not all banks/credit card providers charge an unnecessary currency conversion fee. I asked if they could tell me which banks and they said they didn't know.
Hence my query on this forum. (And just when the pubic hearings of The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry have concluded. Pity...)