Using your card abroad – fee calculator
When you use your debit or credit card abroad to make a purchase or a withdrawal from a cash machine, you may be offered the option to pay in local currency or pounds sterling. This calculator will help you understand how much your transaction could cost you when choosing to pay in local currency.
- 1 Your data
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Your Result
Your card exchange rate
Fee calculator - Your card exchange rate
Amount you would be charged in pounds sterling
The above rates apply to transactions processed on the day you selected. We'll convert the amount into pounds sterling using the Visa or Mastercard exchange rate as at the date we receive the payment instruction to debit your account (which may not be on the same day that you authorised the payment).
Information for EEA currencies only
Based on the information you’ve entered, the cost* for making the transaction abroad and selecting to pay in the local currency is
You can also compare the amount that you would be charged in pounds sterling for paying in local currency to any figure provided by the retailer/cash machine for the alternative of paying in pounds sterling. The retailer/cash machine will provide a similar cost calculation when you choose to pay in pounds sterling so that you can compare the two. The lower percentage will represent the lower cost."
*The cost is calculated as the difference between the transaction using the Visa/Mastercard exchange rate and the same transaction using the Standard European Central Bank (ECB) exchange rate, plus any foreign currency conversion fee Santander charges, as a percentage of the total transaction amount.
Information for EEA currencies only
This information is not available for the date selected.
General information about using your cahoot debit or credit card abroad to make a purchase or to withdraw money from a cash machine
You may be offered two options when using your card abroad:
- Pay in local currency – we convert the amount to pounds sterling using the Visa or Mastercard daily exchange rates (subject to your card type) and may charge you a foreign currency conversion fee depending on the card you have.
- Pay in pounds sterling – the retailer/ foreign bank will handle the conversion and may charge you a fee.
When you use your card abroad and the retailer or cash machine provides you with the equivalent figure for paying in pounds sterling, you can compare it with the figures from this calculator to help you decide which option to take.
There may be other fees to consider that are not accounted for in the calculator. Please refer to your Key Facts Documents or to the General and Product Specific Terms and Conditions for specific fees that apply to your account.
Important information
This calculator is for illustrative purposes only based on the information you’ve entered.
Please refer to your Key Facts Documents or to the General and Product Specific Terms and Conditions for specific fees that apply to your account.
The exchange rate used for processing a transaction may differ from the rate that applied on the actual date of the transaction because exchange rates vary on a daily basis and transactions are not always processed on the day they occur. The exchange rate used when the transaction is processed and the amount of the transaction in pounds sterling after the application of the exchange rate will be detailed on your statement.
Learn more by visiting the ‘Using your debit/ credit card abroad page’ on our website.