Getting your transport through an app is no stranger to Singaporeans. Uber and Grab are the two companies that stand out due to their price competitiveness and the convenience one enjoys with the help of these two apps.
While the CEO of Uber continues making headlines worldwide, we should all be more concern about what’s making headlines on our Ibanking statement or Seedly transactions account.
That Uber ride that you took may have cost you more than you think!
Related: 4 Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes with Their Credit Cards
Tiny But Dangerous
Most consumers of Uber assume that the charges shown on their screens are the final amount they will be paying for their ride. Unknown to many, there is a possibility of addition charges incurred to it.
For the more observant consumers, you should have noticed the constant appearance of a particular transaction that comes with your Uber charges much like the one reflected below.
CCY Conversion Fee in Seedly for the $9.10 Uber ride shown above.
Such charges are particularly annoying to Uber users and due to the amount, most users may not even be aware of it.
However, as the saying goes, ” Beware of little expenses, a small leak will sink a great ship.” Such expenses should be monitored closely.
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So, what On Earth Is A ” CCY Conversion Fee”?
A quick insight to some of the issue is that some of these multinational companies run their different operations in different parts of the world. In this case, operations for Uber’s payment are running at countries out of Singapore, resulting in the need for additional charges.
These charges are in form of international fees which certain credit card schemes or banks might have chosen to pass it down to consumers. We certainly hope that you are not one of those unlucky ones, but we are afraid such charges are inevitable.
Related: Get Set for Some Uber Cool Rides Thanks to Your Standard Chartered Credit Card
What Can Consumers Do?
There might be an on-going debate on who is responsible for incurring of such charges. Be it the banks or credit card schemes, we as consumers will ultimately be helpless and at the receiving end.
The lack of transparency should not be ignored, but since most of us are not a fan of going through terms and conditions on the website, there are a few ways to get around it:
1) Monitoring transactions coming in and out of their bank accounts closely.
If you recognise your payment method to be subjected to such additional cost, you can always research and swap over to another payment methods that are not. This is provided it is not too much a hassle to you.
2) The charges for the transactions depend on the kind of credit card company you are on. Consumers are usually charged an additional 0.8% for VISA, and 1% of the bill for MasterCard.
Always factor in such cost everytime you book your rides with Uber.
Related: 5 Silly Things People Do When They Think They Are Saving
Of course, if these hidden costs affect you quite a fair bit emotionally such that you can no longer look at Uber the same way ever, there are always alternatives without such charges.
This article first appeared in blog.seedly.sg
Seedly is an everyday personal finance assistant that aggregates your financial data across up to 6 local bank and card accounts and gives you a complete personal financial picture. Download Seedly for free today!
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