With reference to the short article entitled Brussels Insists Visa Scraps Credit Card Fee, which applied to retailers, I would like to make reference to the Visa Europe charges with regard to consumers.
... I was using a debit card... money already in the account... This was my money in my current account- Maria Fenech, Pietá
The reason for this letter is to make people aware of the hidden costs of using Visa debit or credit cards outside the eurozone.
My partner and I were in Oman on a business trip. Before we left, I visited my local HSBC branch and asked for information about cash withdrawals and related charges. I was advised to apply for an advance debit card and use it at any HSBC ATM machine at no charge (apart from the exchange rate). My partner was advised to use his Quikcash card. In his case, the charge per withdrawal was €2.50 per transaction.
We withdrew 200 OMR (Omani Rials) each from the same HSBC ATM machine at the same time. I used the advance debit card and my partner the Quikcash card.
When we checked our accounts we found that my partner had been debited €357.56 and charged €2.50 while I was debited €391.53 and no charges, a difference of €33.97. It would have been better had I used my Quikcash card because I would not have fallen into this “trap”.
This was utterly incomprehensible to me because I did not know why there should be such a difference between two similar transactions, so I sent off an e-mail to HSBC Malta. HSBC replied and explained that the difference was not a charge by HSBC but a charge by Visa. I was not convinced and met the branch manager on my return to Malta.
It was obvious that HSBC staff were completely unaware of this extra charge by Visa.
I asked for a refund of about €150 but was refused. However, I felt cheated because I was using a debit card, that is money already in the account, and not a credit card. This was my money in my current account.
Had we been in a eurozone country, this charge would not have applied. The same exchange rate used by HSBC or Bank of Valletta should apply, immaterial of whether one was in a eurozone country or not. We could have been in the UK or in any of the 10 EU countries, which are not yet in the eurozone.
What about businesses that use the US dollar for transactions with the Far East or with the USA? What about businessmen who use their debit cards on their business trips? What about e-bay users?
I sincerely wish that one of our MEPs would take up the matter with Brussels.