Using your card outside the UK

Using your cards outside the UK, in combination with your travel money, gives you more flexibility when managing your holiday money.

A debit card allows you to withdraw cash at cash machines and pay for purchases plus keep a track of your spending via online, mobile or telephone banking.

Credit cards can be useful when purchasing more expensive items because of your rights under the Consumer Credit Act 1975. However, please note fees and charges apply.

Visa converts transactions into sterling using the Visa Exchange Rate applicable on the day it processes the transaction (the rates are provided by Visa and subject to change). This date may be different to the day on which the transaction took place. Historic exchange rate information is available at www.visaeurope.com.

Where you choose to make the payment / withdrawal in sterling, then HSBC will not make any conversion and this will be done by either the retailer or self-service machine owner. Some cash machine owners may apply an additional charge for withdrawals and this will be advised at the time of the withdrawal.

When making a payment or withdrawing cash in a foreign currency (non-sterling) you may be asked if you want to pay in Sterling or the local currency. By selecting to pay in the local currency, HSBC will make the conversion using the relevant payment scheme exchange rate applied on the day the conversion is made.

Where you choose to make the payment / withdrawal in sterling, then HSBC will not make any conversion and this will be done by either the retailer or self-service machine owner. Some cash machine owners may apply an additional charge for withdrawals and this will be advised at the time of the withdrawal

Travelling in the European Economic Area (EEA)?¹ See how paying in local currency on your HSBC credit or debit card compares to the European Central Bank (ECB)’s latest reference rates.

This shows the percentage difference between the ECB reference rate and your HSBC card rates, depending on how you pay. You can find out more about these fees above.

^{1_{European Economic Area where you can pay in currency includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.}}