Master card and US $ rate

[morpheus83]

I am in India and use my credit card the hosting charges in the US. I have a Mastercard CC the current US $ selling rate is 43.10 Indian rupees. However the bank (ABN AMRO) charges me 45.20 Rs per $. Which is 2 Rs more than the official selling rate which is given by Reserve Bank of India. On asking ABN Amro they on why they are charging more they tell me that it is decided by Mastercard and not the bank. Is this true? Does Mastercard charge higher for the US $.

[Corey Bryant]

Well right now $1 USD is equal to 43.6400 INR.

The exchange rate is always changing. So whatever the exchange rate is at that moment that your transaction is completed, that is what you will be charged

-Corey

[paladin]

Keep in mind that most credit cards, and even most banks, use their own exchange rate and not the published one. If that is not enough there are different exchange rate: selling, buying, credit and so on

[morpheus83]

I know that the exchange rate is always changing. But I am always charged 2 Rs extra then the published rate. Even if the banks have their own rates the difference of 2 Rs is a lot. Almost 4 1/2 %.

[jagsanger]

Hi - the problem here is NOT the acquirer, but the issuer. They charge whatever they think they can get away with - it is estimated that Visa and MasterCard made almost $2bn (US) from these fees alone in 2004.

The solution for you is to use dynamic currency conversion.

Regards
Jag

[edited by: lorax at 1:08 pm (utc) on Mar. 25, 2005]
[edit reason] removed promo plug [/edit]