Dynamic currency conversion: typical exchange rate markup
The cost of DCC is routinely quoted as a fixed figure — 5%, 8%, sometimes more — which is a guess dressed as a fact. Visa's own guidance describes a markup in the region of 3 to 5%, and the issuer's foreign transaction fee is a separate charge that applies whichever currency is chosen. Two variable components, quoted as one certainty, is how people end up either ignoring DCC or overstating it to the point of not being believed.
- Applies to
- Anyone paying with a foreign-issued card in Korea who is offered their home currency at the terminal
- Review cadence
- Checked once a year
What we have recorded
- 2026-09-133–5%
Markup embedded in the exchange rate applied by the merchant's DCC provider, typically in the 3–5% region. Your issuer's foreign transaction fee is separate and applies either way, so choosing the local currency avoids the markup rather than all currency costs. Visa and Mastercard both require that the cardholder be offered the choice of currency and shown the rate and any charges.
Visa — guidance on dynamic currency conversion
One reading so far. This becomes a history the first time the figure moves while we are watching — which is the part that cannot be reconstructed later.
Guides that depend on this figure
When this figure moves, every guide above needs the same edit. That is why it is tracked here rather than copied into each one.