Can I dispute a DCC charge I did not agree to?
Yes. Visa dispute condition 12.3, Incorrect Currency, covers transactions where the cardholder was not advised of DCC or did not agree to it, and Mastercard gives issuers an equivalent chargeback right. The merchant must prove the cardholder actively chose the conversion, with a receipt showing both amounts and the rate.
In detail
Yes. Visa dispute condition 12.3, Incorrect Currency, covers transactions where the cardholder was not advised of DCC or did not agree to it, and Mastercard gives issuers an equivalent chargeback right. The merchant must prove the cardholder actively chose the conversion, with a receipt showing both amounts and the rate.
Your dispute right
Visa requires the amount in both currencies, the exchange rate and any markup to be disclosed, and states that merchants must not choose on the cardholder’s behalf or steer with font size or color. A cardholder who was not offered the choice has a dispute right: Visa condition 12.3, Incorrect Currency, applies when the cardholder was not advised or did not agree that DCC would occur. Mastercard gives issuers an equivalent right.
What the merchant must prove
The merchant’s only defense is evidence that the cardholder actively chose DCC, with the receipt. Receipts must show both amounts, the currency codes and the rate, whether or not DCC was chosen. Merchants should store the screen version, the markup displayed and the cardholder’s selection with every DCC transaction, because issuers and mystery shoppers ask for them months later. DCC is one of the few places where a chargeback is won or lost on a screen layout.
More detail in our #PayDecoding episode on dynamic currency conversion.