- Thread starter rhanson1
- Start date
Warning to Playero customers using credit cards
- Status
I have some new information for those who may be interested in actual facts. I studied one of my recent Playero receipts more closely. At the bottom of the receipt is a statement with print that is so tiny and faded that it is illegible. Out of curiosity however, I put the receipt under a bright light and used a magnifying glass and was finally able to decipher the following statement: “Me han ofredico una seleccion de monedas, incluvendo moneda local del comerciante. He decididopagar en USD. Conversion Dinamica de Moneda (DCC) es ofrecido por el estableccimiento”. The Google translate version of that is “I have been offered a selection of coins, including the local currency of the merchant. I have decided to pay in USD. Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) is offered by the establishment”.
Case closed. The suggestion that this merchant recently began implementing the DCC scam is confirmed. I was not aware of this and had never even heard of DCC until other posters here educated me and offered web links to explain what DCC is. DCC is something that can be offered by a merchant if they choose to do so, but it is supposed to be an option for the customer. The merchant is required to ask the customer if they prefer to use DCC instead of the local currency. Failure to do this is a violation of the Visa and Mastercard terms of service.
I have used numerous different cashiers for my recent credit card purchases at Playero. Not one of them has ever asked me if I prefer to use DCC instead of the local currency. So clearly this is how they have been trained. I am surprised and disappointed that Playero has decided to engage in tactics like this. The DCC literature confirms that the merchant receives all or a portion of this additional surcharge as an additional profit center. I originally thought that the use of the word “scam” to describe this was a bit strong, but after further study on what DCC is all about, I agree that it is an accurate term.
For those of you who are enraged by my audacity to dare criticize a pillar of the community like Playero, it is not necessary for you to respond. Ditto for those of you who believe that a 4% surcharge on credit card purchases is somehow customary or normal or no big deal. This is what it is, and it smells. Fortunately this unseemly practice has not been adopted by any of the other local merchants that I use.
Case closed. The suggestion that this merchant recently began implementing the DCC scam is confirmed. I was not aware of this and had never even heard of DCC until other posters here educated me and offered web links to explain what DCC is. DCC is something that can be offered by a merchant if they choose to do so, but it is supposed to be an option for the customer. The merchant is required to ask the customer if they prefer to use DCC instead of the local currency. Failure to do this is a violation of the Visa and Mastercard terms of service.
I have used numerous different cashiers for my recent credit card purchases at Playero. Not one of them has ever asked me if I prefer to use DCC instead of the local currency. So clearly this is how they have been trained. I am surprised and disappointed that Playero has decided to engage in tactics like this. The DCC literature confirms that the merchant receives all or a portion of this additional surcharge as an additional profit center. I originally thought that the use of the word “scam” to describe this was a bit strong, but after further study on what DCC is all about, I agree that it is an accurate term.
For those of you who are enraged by my audacity to dare criticize a pillar of the community like Playero, it is not necessary for you to respond. Ditto for those of you who believe that a 4% surcharge on credit card purchases is somehow customary or normal or no big deal. This is what it is, and it smells. Fortunately this unseemly practice has not been adopted by any of the other local merchants that I use.
Lodge a complaint with your CC company indicating your were not informed that the merchant would be using DCC for the transaction and that was not what you wanted to do or assumed would happen. You should get some money credited back and the CC company will advise Playero why they are receiving a charge back. If enough customers notice and complain, Playero will get the message.
Okay, all clear now, it is over DCC and the fact that the cashier didn't ask for it clearly from the customer.
Despite the above 4% is an amazingly low (good) rate for DCC ... ! Maybe that's why nobody notices it and they can get away with it.... lol
So from now on asks specifically to be charged in local currency (not DCC), problem solved... (well, for those who know, unsuspecting tourist, tough !)
Despite the above 4% is an amazingly low (good) rate for DCC ... ! Maybe that's why nobody notices it and they can get away with it.... lol
So from now on asks specifically to be charged in local currency (not DCC), problem solved... (well, for those who know, unsuspecting tourist, tough !)
Quote Originally Posted by chico bill View Post
Used my Citibank Credit card at La Sirena today.
Spend 1763.99. within 10 seconds (before I even picked the bags up I got a message from Citibank that my card was charged $35.46 ( an exchange rate of 49.746) - pretty good.
I also bought some items a Jumbo (same card) and spend 669.85 and got a message that I was charged $13.46 ( an exchange rate of 49.766) - even better. So I can't complain.
I will check my next purchase receipt at Playero and if they ding me 4% or don't offer as good an exchange rate I will shop only at Super Pola (except for the French bread)
OK I just returned from buying a few items in Playero.
Pesos receipt 788.16
Credit Card charge (Citibank) = $15.86 for a conversion of 49.758 - compares well with Jumbo and La Sirena
Make sure your credit card does not charge a "Foreign Transaction Fee" - then you should be alright
Used my Citibank Credit card at La Sirena today.
Spend 1763.99. within 10 seconds (before I even picked the bags up I got a message from Citibank that my card was charged $35.46 ( an exchange rate of 49.746) - pretty good.
I also bought some items a Jumbo (same card) and spend 669.85 and got a message that I was charged $13.46 ( an exchange rate of 49.766) - even better. So I can't complain.
I will check my next purchase receipt at Playero and if they ding me 4% or don't offer as good an exchange rate I will shop only at Super Pola (except for the French bread)
OK I just returned from buying a few items in Playero.
Pesos receipt 788.16
Credit Card charge (Citibank) = $15.86 for a conversion of 49.758 - compares well with Jumbo and La Sirena
Make sure your credit card does not charge a "Foreign Transaction Fee" - then you should be alright
Chico bill, I am pleased to hear that. That is great news. But I am not mistaken about my credit card company charging me a foreign transaction fee. They don't. And even if they did, that fee would not appear on the receipt. It would appear on my monthly statement as an add-on service charge. Like I said before, I am not making this stuff up. I have Playero receipts from the past few weeks when they started using this new credit card processor that clearly show that they have been using DCC on my purchases. The problem was that I never knew what DCC was until recently and even if I did, the tiny faded print on the receipt is illegible without the assistance of tools.
I can only assume that Playero has been made aware of the controversy on this thread and changed their policy accordingly. Good for them. This thread appears to have served its purpose. I had never intended to make a big deal out of this. I simply wanted an explanation from the merchant about why I was suddenly getting a very discounted exchange rate on purchases made only at their store. All they needed to do was to explain to me that they had this new system in place called DCC, and that I simply needed to tell the cashier if I wanted to opt out. Period. Problem solved. That would have satisfied me, and it would have been the end of the story. Only when the employee blew me off and I couldn't get any explanation for the change in policy did I decide to make a post on DR1 to see if I could get to the bottom of it, never dreaming of course how much controversy and anger it would create. I guess that demonstrates how naive I am. :cheeky:
Depending if your card is a chip & pin card, the cashier usually hands you the machine to enter your pin. Last time I used my USD card at Playero it gave two figures to confirm before I entered my pin. On the screen it had the Peso value on one side and USD value on the other. You press the relevant key to confirm your selection. Admittedly, unless you have a calculator at hand it won't give the exchange rate. My bank charge for transactions that are not in Dollars. Mainly because it's a UK offshore bank and I have accounts and cards in Dollars, Euros and Pounds. For me it's beneficial to choose the USD amount if it's for a smaller purchase, because my bank charges a fixed transaction fee rather than a percentage.
My card is a credit card with a chip, and the cashier has never handed me the machine to punch in anything. She simply takes my card, sticks it into the machine, waits for approval, and then prints out the receipt and hands it to me sign. And that always worked fine until recently. And yes, I can understand how there could be circumstances where the customer would actually prefer to use DCC, particularly if his bank has hefty fees for foreign transactions, and particularly if the surcharge is not outright crazy like 8 or 10 percent.
All I see is the ITBIS which is 11.3 % but everyone charges that
Sent from my SM-A530F using Tapatalk
Yes, I believe that is normal if DCC is not used. The statement at the bottom of the receipt appears only when DCC is used. The problem is that it is so tiny and faint that it is illegible. And even if it were legible, it's entirely in Spanish, so of course would be meaningless to anyone without a firm grasp of the Spanish language. The proper way to handle this is for the cashier to simply ask the customer whether they want the charge to be made in the local currency or for it to be converted to the currency of his home bank. That's what they are supposed to do.
Based on the recent post from Chico bill, it appears that they have done the same thing again. They apparently heard about the complaint and instead of weighing in on this forum to try to defend it, they simply fixed it. Kudos to them.
They do not come forward.... they just do
I expect you can imagine why they keep their distance !!!
hahaha
glad it all worked and we are the wiser for it.
It seems any new system ( I saw it in Canada) allows the customer to choose on teh machins which charge to use....good to know
thax again for all your trouble... and lashings rec'd
I expect you can imagine why they keep their distance !!!
hahaha
glad it all worked and we are the wiser for it.
It seems any new system ( I saw it in Canada) allows the customer to choose on teh machins which charge to use....good to know
thax again for all your trouble... and lashings rec'd
Ok, There seems to be a misconception on Foreign Transaction Fees (FTF). Let me also shed some light on FTF. The FTF is not because you used foreign currency or any any other currency other than the card's issuer's home currency.
The (FTF), IF your card has one, is a fee for a transaction that took place in country or jurisdiction other the card issuer's home country.
Case in point: When I travel to Panama* and Ecuador the legal tender there is the US dollar (USD). All purchases and ATM dispenses are in USD currency. But if your card has an FTF (1-3%) this fee will apply because it was a foreign transaction. Why? Because it is a foreign transaction, hence the fee- i.e. the issuer has to deal with a country other than its own.
* I know the official currency of Panama is the Balboa, but the legal tender is the USD.
Thanks for that clarification. If I understand your post correctly, you're saying that a card with foreign transaction fees will charge you the fee for any transaction in a foreign country regardless of what currency the charge is tendered. If that is the case, then is there any circumstance that would make sense for a customer to deliberately want to use DCC?
Yes, the DCC was developed, as a courtesy, to allow the consumer to see the charge in their home currency. Some people don't do well with large numbers or foreign bills in a strange language. For example COP to USD: 2983.37 COP to 1 USD.
Wiki excerpt: Proponents of this service believe that customers can better understand the prices in their home currency, and this makes it easier for business travelers to keep track of their expenses. They also point out that the customer has full transparency inclusive of conversion fees, and can make an informed choice whether or not to use DCC. <~(Bulls**t) The financial benefit to the merchant or their card processor may be an incentive for the merchant to offer DCC even when it would be disadvantageous to the (unsuspecting/uninformed) customer.
Note: The FTF is not DCC or the DCC is not an FTF. Two separate and distinct fees.
Last edited:
OK, so if I understand you correctly, the only benefit of DCC is to give assurance and peace-of-mind to customers who may be mathematically challenged, but the transaction will always cost more regardless of which card you are using and the terms of that card. Have I got that right?
- Status