What is a foreign transaction fee? What cards charge you abroad
By SendPay Business · · 2 min read
A foreign transaction fee is an extra charge some card providers add when you pay in a currency other than your card's own. In the UK it is often called a non-sterling transaction fee, and on many high street cards it is around 3% of each payment.
Where the cost comes from
- The exchange rate: the rate used to turn the foreign amount into your own currency.
- The foreign transaction fee: a percentage your card provider adds on top.
- Sometimes a fixed fee per payment or per cash withdrawal as well.
It applies online too
The fee isn't only for holidays. Buying from a website that charges in euros or dollars counts as a foreign transaction, even if you never leave home.
How to pay less
Check your card's fees before you travel; some cards charge no foreign transaction fee. When a shop or cash machine abroad offers to charge you in your own currency, choose the local currency instead: that offer, called dynamic currency conversion, usually comes with a worse rate. Holding money in the currency you'll spend avoids converting on every payment.
Where SendPay fits
SendPay platforms give your customers GBP, EUR and USD accounts, currency exchange at a fee the owner sets, and branded Visa cards, powered by licensed partners.
Build it
Create your own financial platform.
Pick a template, name it, brand it, preview every page before you pay. Your brand, your users, your fees.
Build my platform →Questions people ask
What will my card charge me abroad?
Work out the fee on your own spending.
Foreign transaction fee calculator →Pay in local currency or your own?
See the mark-up hidden in a card machine's offer.
Dynamic currency conversion calculator →What is dynamic currency conversion?
Being offered your own currency abroad, at a worse rate.
What is dynamic currency conversion? →What is a multi-currency account?
One account holding several currencies.
What is a multi-currency account? →Read next
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. SendPay Business is a technology company, not a bank, and does not take deposits; regulated services on the platforms are provided by licensed partners. PayPal, Patreon and Substack are named as reference points only and are not affiliated with SendPay Business.