The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued a warning to consumers to watch out for international transaction fees when buying online.
Chair of the ACCC, Rod Sims said that even websites with a .com.au domain name or which appeared to be based in Australia may process transactions overseas, meaning consumers could get charged an international transaction fee for a purchase made in Australian dollars.
“Retailers may be engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct if Australian consumers are given the overall impression that the transaction is processed here, when it is actually processed outside of Australia,” Mr Sims said.
“Businesses should clearly inform consumers when they are likely to be charged an international transaction fee,” he said.
Mr Sims said the ACCC had issued guidance to retailers about how price information should be presented to consumers.
“It is unclear to many consumers whether a retailer processes transactions overseas, so we expect retailers to make this clear to consumers on their websites,” he said.
He said consumers who had been charged an unexpected international transaction fee for a purchase in Australian dollars from a website that appeared Australian-based or had an Australian domain name should query the fee with their bank and report it to the ACCC.
“If you are making regular purchases with overseas businesses, it may be worth considering a credit or debit card with no international transaction fees or asking your bank to block international transactions for certain cards,” he said.
Mr Sims said the ACCC would continue to monitor the issue and encouraged consumers to make a complaint to the Commission if they identified retailers who weren’t warning consumers about potential fees.
