Overseas Purchases

[antho_south]

Hi,  I recently made a purchase from a merchant in Singapore that was quoted in USD.  I was happy to proceed with the purchase as my bank here in Australia always refund my International Currency fees.  When my bank was charged for the purchase it had already been converted to AUD and the charge was higher than I expected as it included the relevant currency fees.   After 2 lengthy chats with eBay I still have no answer who converted the currency, ebay, PayPal or the merchant.  Is it normal for ebay overseas purchases to be converted to home country currency despite the product and the order being in the merchants country currency?   Thanks for any replies.

[digital*ghost]

If you paid with PayPal, the default is for PayPal to perform the currency conversion, and built in to their rate is an additional 4% for conversion.

If you fund the payment with a credit card, there should be an option somewhere to have the bank perform the conversion instead of PayPal. 

[antho_south]

Thanks for your reply.  Thats exactly how I would have expected the transaction to have happened, I used my bank debit card and no option to use my bank or PayPal for the currency conversion was provided !  Still awaiting some response to my latest chat with ebay.

[countessalmirena · Accepted solution]

I cannot see an option to specify one's card provider's conversion the default, although I'm sure it was available at one time. PayPal states the following (in their Help section):

❝How do I pay in a foreign currency using my credit card through PayPal?

When paying in a different currency with your credit card, you have two options for the currency conversion:

• Use PayPal's conversion process: We'll complete your transaction using your card's currency.
• Use the credit card issuer's conversion process: We'll debit the amount from your card in the currency determined by the seller.

You can see these conversion options by clicking View conversion rates on the payment page.

If PayPal performs your currency conversion, you’ll be notified of the conversion rate at the time of the transaction.

If you choose to use your card issuer's currency conversion procedures, we won't know the conversion rate. You'll only see the foreign exchange rate or any additional foreign exchange fees until you receive your card statement.❞

So... it seems to be the case that you'll see the option only at the time of making the payment.