When travelling abroad, some of you may be wondering which type of card you should bring along and how best to use it. The answer to this question is not as straightforward as it might be. That’s why we’d like to inform you of several factors that should be taken into account.
Acceptance
First and foremost, remember that V PAY debit cards can only be used in the Visa Europe region, which largely overlaps with geographical Europe.
Payments
There are no extra charges when you use your debit card to pay for purchases in euro, except in European countries that are not part of the eurozone. Here, a flat fee will be applied.
Please note that some merchants, in particular in the United Kingdom, may ask whether you wish to pay in euro rather than the local currency. It is always better to pay in the local currency to avoid extra charges from the merchant’s bank.
Withdrawals
BIL’s standard charge for euro withdrawals using your debit card in the European Union is €2.50 and €5 in all other cases. This charge may vary depending upon the client’s specific fee schedule or their account package.
Please note that if you make withdrawals abroad, some banks (especially in Portugal) may apply charges for using their ATMs. Cardholders will generally be asked for their consent to these charges.
For credit cards, a withdrawal constitutes a cash advance. Here the fee charged by BIL is €4.00 + 2.5% of the amount withdrawn, or €5.00 for withdrawals in a foreign currency (this difference in the charges was recently introduced to reflect the fact that debit cards from the V PAY network can only be used in the Visa Europe region).
Currencies
For both withdrawals and point-of-sale payments made in foreign currencies using a debit or credit card, BIL charges a fee of 1.25% of the amount converted into euro. This is in addition to the charges imposed by the international Visa system (currently between 0.10% and 1%), which vary depending on the region where the transaction takes place, the network and the type of transaction.
To summarise, it is important to consider the country to which you are travelling, the type of transaction and the type of terminal you’ll be using to complete the transaction.
