Dynamic currency conversion (DCC)

Dynamic currency conversion (DCC) is the option a foreign merchant, hotel, or ATM offers to bill a card in the cardholder’s home currency instead of the local one. The merchant or ATM operator — not the card network — sets the exchange rate for that on-the-spot conversion, and Visa requires it to disclose the rate, any markup, and a genuine choice to decline before the cardholder confirms. DCC usually costs more than paying in the local currency and letting the card network handle the conversion, because the offered rate includes a margin the merchant or ATM operator sets for itself. It differs from a card’s own foreign transaction fee: DCC is a markup the merchant adds before the charge reaches the card network, and under US truth-in-lending rules a card issuer is not required to disclose a fee imposed by a merchant the way it must disclose its own. Declining DCC and choosing the local currency is usually the cheaper option.

See also: What is dynamic currency conversion (DCC)? for the full explainer.