Foreign visitors who pay by card in Costa Rica now face a 6% charge from one of the country’s largest banks if they choose to be billed in their home currency instead of colones, a cost travelers can avoid simply by declining the option at checkout. BAC Credomatic has begun applying the commission on its card terminals for international cardholders using foreign-issued cards who opt to pay in their own currency, the bank confirmed.
The service, known as dynamic currency conversion, or DCC, adds a fee equal to 6% of the total transaction and is voluntary. At the moment of payment, the foreign cardholder is asked whether to pay in colones or accept conversion to their home currency, and the commission applies only if the customer accepts. BAC said the service carries no cost for the affiliated merchants who enable it at their points of sale.
Dynamic currency conversion is a feature offered at card terminals and ATMs worldwide that lets a foreign cardholder see and pay a price in their own currency rather than the local one. The convenience is that a U.S. or European traveler knows exactly what the purchase will cost in dollars or euros before approving it.
The catch is that the exchange rate is set by the merchant’s payment processor rather than the traveler’s own bank or card network, and it typically carries a markup. Travel-money specialists routinely advise visitors to decline DCC and pay in the local currency, allowing the cardholder’s own bank to handle the conversion, usually at a better rate.
Mayid Sauma, BAC’s vice president of personal banking, payment methods and small business, framed the service as a benefit for foreign shoppers. He said it gives merchants a way to offer a better purchase experience by providing transparency on the amount and sparing the customer additional charges from their issuing bank and exchange-rate risk. Sauma said the feature has been communicated to affiliated businesses, which decide whether to enable it.
BAC is not the first Costa Rican bank to offer DCC. The Banco de Costa Rica said it has had the service enabled since mid-2024, with a lower commission of 4.50% for foreign cardholders who choose it. The state bank described DCC as a tool provided by commercial partners that integrates into its payment-acceptance systems and is meant to give foreign customers greater clarity on what they are paying.
Both BAC and BCR characterized dynamic currency conversion as an advantage for foreign cardholders and a widely used international practice. Not every bank charges for it. The Banco Nacional does not apply a conversion commission on the terminals it operates, José Antonio Vásquez of the institution’s corporate finance division said.
The fees land on a major source of foreign spending. Costa Rica received 2.9 million visitors last year, who brought in $5.552 billion through purchases of goods and services, according to the Central Bank. The reference exchange rate stood at ¢460.18 to the dollar on the selling side as of June 1, according to the BCCR.
For travelers, the practical advice is unchanged regardless of which bank’s terminal they use: when a card machine offers to charge in dollars or another home currency, choosing colones avoids the surcharge.
