International Transaction Fees
Have you ever purchased a crepe in Cannes or a gelato in Genoa and wondered why you received a bill for much more than the total cost of the tasty treat on your credit card statement? Then you, friends, have met our old nemesis: international transaction fees.International transaction fees are charges applied by credit card companies to you, the consumer, when your credit card is used to make a purchase in a foreign currency. These charges are typical and obvious when traveling abroad, but they are also applied to purchases made online from a foreign vendor that operates in a foreign currency, as well.
Put simply: if you buy something with a credit card, and the transaction needs to be processed into a foreign currency to complete the payment, you get slapped with an additional fee from the credit card companies for the trouble.