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Consumers count the cost of poor exchange rates

CUSTOMERS of some low budget airlines are reportedly paying more for their flights because of the poor exchange rates applied to their transactions.

Some credit card providers have also stopped using standard Visa and Mastercard rates and introduced their own poorer rates.

The difference in exchange rates can add between 2 and 6% to the cost of a transaction.

The airlines and the banks insist their rates are fair.

A number of airlines, including Ryanair and Easyjet, price single flights from European destinations to UK airports in Euros rather than sterling.

But when it comes to making a payment, the companies convert the transaction into sterling at their own rates, unless the customer chooses to opt out.

Most banks use either the daily Visa or Mastercard rate when converting a payment in currency. The rate is competitive because of the number of people using it, but is only applied when the transaction is processed, which may not be the day a purchase was made.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .