Regulation (EU) 518/2019 FAQs
The EU Regulation 2019/518, establishes, among other things, rules for better consumer information on currency conversion charges within the European Union. According to the institutional framework, the total currency conversion charges shall be expressed in the same way, i.e. as a percentage mark-up over the latest available euro foreign reference exchange rates, issued by the European Central Bank (ECB).
The same way that total currency conversion charges appear (i.e. as a percentage mark up over the ECB rate), should be applied by all payment service providers and the parties that provide currency conversion services to an ATM or point of sale (POS).
For example, if you want to make with your card an ATM transaction or POS purchase in a foreign currency, within the European Union, before the transaction, you can refer to the relevant table posted by the Bank, find the local currency of the transaction and check out the percentage mark-up that will be applied, in case the currency conversion will be made by the Bank.
During the transaction, if currency conversion services are provided at the ATM or at the point of sale (POS), the party providing the relevant service, will propose to you the currency conversion and notify you with the percentage mark-up. As a result, you can compare and choose how the conversion will be done (by your Bank or at the ATM/POS), based on the lowest percentage mark-up.