Foreign transaction fee on subscription payment

bobzef

Hi,

I am paying $5 USD / month for my family plan. I noticed that each time I've been charged there's been another credit card transaction of 15 cents (3% of the $5). It is labeled "Foreign Transaction Fee". My bank explained to me that this is because you require payment in your own currency and my bank is required to do the conversion, rather than your own bank doing the conversion from US dollars.

This is only a question: not an issue. I just want to confirm that you're requiring payment in non US currency.

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Ben

Hi @bobzef,

Thanks for taking the time to ask about this. All of our prices are charged in USD regardless of where you live. We only deal in USD.

It sounds as though there was either a misunderstanding with your bank, or they've given you incorrect information. :(

Ben

bobzef

Thanks for the reply Ben.

My understanding is that you're a Canadian company. If you keep your money in a Canadian bank then maybe you keep it in Canadian dollars. If so, then somewhere along the line my $5 USB had to be converted to Canadian dollars. I think you're saying this is not the case; you keep the money is US dollars. In any case, my bank is saying they converted the money.

The easiest way for me to get more clarity is to switch the credit card in my account. My next invoice will be paid on August 14. I'll followup here to let you know if this other card also charges me the fee.

By the way, in no way do I think you're not worth the 15 cents :).

khad

@bobzef,

By the way, in no way do I think you're not worth the 15 cents :).

Haha! Made me laugh, and the sentiment is genuinely appreciated. :)

Just to shed some more light on this…

The foreign transaction fee (FTF) that some banks charge is not related to the currency. We do charge in USD, but the FTF is because we are a Canadian company and the charge is processed as a Canadian (i.e. foreign-to-you) charge.

Without endorsing any specific cards, FTFs are usually waived on higher end cards or cards marketed toward travelers. They often come with annual fees (sometimes large ones). However, Capital One charges no FTF on any of their cards (some of which have no annual fee), and the BankAmericard Travel Rewards card has no FTF as well as no annual fee. You may even have a card that won't charge a FTF already in your wallet. You would need to contact the issuer to confirm. :+1:

I hope that helps.

bobzef

Thanks for that explanation. I followed through researching my various cards. I have a few Visa cards (Bank of America, Chase, Citi), an American Express, and a Discover Card. Only the last doesn't charge the FTF. However, your subscription service doesn't support Discover. I'm OK with a monthly charge of $5.15. I suspect most US people will be paying this.

I appreciate the opportunity to learn something. Thanks for the quick responses.

Ben

Thanks for the update @bobzef. I'm surprised to hear the AMEX has an FTF as I thought most of their cards did not. Good to know.

:)

Ben

alvaro87

I also have to to pay that fee when you charge my Spanish MasterCard debit card.

As long as the fee keeps being as low as it is now (€0,16) it's ok for me.

Pilar

Hi @alvaro87

Thanks for letting us know, at the end of the day, it depends on your bank, but we hope it will stay at 16 cents! :chuffed:

ch0y

This is very annoying. I was also charged a FTF. No where on the subscription billing page (for 1Password families) does it indicate that you guys are a Canadian company and that there may be a FTF. You should really disclose this so that people have the opportunity to choose a card that doesn't charge a FTF.

Frank

Hi @ch0y - Thank you for sending over some constructive feedback. The fee is charged by your bank and not every bank charges this fee. We are indeed a Canadian company and we do disclose this in several locations on our website and it's on the bottom of every webpage. I can understand where you're coming from and I will make sure to mention this to my team. Maybe we can improve things a bit more so I appreciate you contacting us :smile:

ch0y

Hi @Frank - I'm not blaming you guys for the FTF, but you can do a much better job at notifying customers. When you log into the 1Password team site where you manage your vaults and billing, it does not say anywhere that you are a foreign company.

You might have it as footnotes on the main site and the about/help section, but once a user signs up for a free trial to the point that you convert them to a paying customer, there is no indication of this anywhere. FTF fees are quite common for American credit companies and I'm sure you have quite a lot of US based customers.

Frank

Hi @ch0y - You're completely right, I'm a US paying customer too :wink: I use Chase currently and wasn't charged a FTF fee the last time I checked but you're right we can do better. As I mentioned, I will make sure to bring this up with my team and see if there is something better we can do. Thank you again for the feedback, very much appreciated :+1: Enjoy the rest of your day!

XIII

If you change it, can you please also mention VAT on the pricing page?

https://1password.com/sign-up/

(this was a very unpleasant surprise for me: I have to pay more than 20% extra than the advertised price!)

Frank

Hi @XIII - I'll be glad to mention this as well. I'm sorry for the surprise, having to charge for VAT is new to us as well. I appreciate the feedback and I'll see what I can do. Enjoy the rest of your day!