I am attending Cyprus for 14 days within the next week and my card is due to arrive within the next couple of days. I understand the overall purpose of the card… but will I have to transfer Euro’s onto the card (from British pounds) or will the British pounds automatically change with each payment/withdraw from the ATM within Cyprus.
Yes this may be a very simple yet dumb question but I would like an answer as I am slightly confused about this and not yet 100% understanding the full process for payments within other countries with a different currency!
No, you do not have to transfer Euros on to your card. You can’t actually do this anyway. Money spent or withdrawn with your card abroad will be converted for you automatically.
You can withdraw up to £200 (in the local equivalent) from foreign ATMs every 30 days. Additional withdrawals from foreign ATMs will incur a 3% charge.
Money withdrawn will be converted using the MasterCard exchange rate so long as you choose to withdraw in local currency. Do not accept ATM prompts to use the currency conversion on the ATM you will get a much worse rate.
So, when you go to an ATM abroad:
pop your card in
enter your PIN
choose how much money you want to withdraw. This will be in the local currency. It’s a a good idea to know roughly how much £10 is in the country’s currency. The app will tell you when you land if you have an internet connection.
choose to withdraw in the local currency when prompted (not in GBP using conversion)
the Monzo app will show a temporary feed item with the amount in GBP and local currency. This takes a while to settle due to the exchange rate so it may update
Try as much as possible to use your card directly to pay for things. It’s a lot easier and many ATMs abroad may charge you to withdraw. But have a small amount of cash too just in case they don’t accept cards. Like with the ATMs make sure you are paying in local currency so you get the better exchange rate through MasterCard. Make sure the card reader is in local currency and reject if offered to pay in pounds.
Here’s a pic so you roughly know what to expect with the ATMs:
By the way, stay away from Euronet ATMs. You need to deny DCC twice in some countries and at the end of the process you will be presented with a fee anyway if you want to take out money without conversion
The company has nothing to do with Europe anyway. It is some greedy ATM business based in Kansas or somewhere else in Midwest America.
