| Almost. To such a degree I would call it a very dark pattern. There is however one very good argument for. Currencies with very high volatility. Think extreme inflation. If you accept their conversion you know what you pay in your own currency. You have then mitigated a risk.
If your own currency is volatile then you might gamble and win. If the foreign currency is volatile you will usually win by paying in the foreign currency. If both are volatile then it is a blind gamble. The important part here are the settlement dates. Your bank usually do not calculate the exchange rate of the eaxct purchase time. That is the excuse for the "service". But it is still not wanted and I consider it evil. When traveling places with rampant inflation you will notice that sellers always negotiate 2 prices. One in the local currency and one in what is considered an easy to use hard currency such as USD or Euros.
Forgeries and less cash flowing around has made it harder to use other less know but otherwise hard currencies. So sellers never care what currency you choose to settle in as very close to zero sellers have multiple accounts on the same terminal. And those who really need it will always negotiate in different currencies. You might have experienced something like this at times when visiting Argentina or Turkey. So the "service" is only there for those who want to understand what they pay in their own currency or mitigate a settlement date. And will pay for it! Local terminal holders rarely care. But the ATM mafias (such as EuroNet) do very much so. Because they actively are playing the mitigation game and are allowed to add fees. I strongly feel this field should be very heavily regulated. But too much money is involved. And if you look at where VISA and MasterCard are located you will understand that is not a regulation happy corner of the planet. |