Filenews 20 August 2022 - by Theano Thiopoulou
In the summer it is also a holiday outside Cyprus and, as shown by the data announced by the Statistical Service, travel abroad doubled in July. This means that even more cards are used by Cypriots who travel outside and should know what the charges are, but also what happens to the money pledges. "F" presents in this text the main points related to secure electronic payments, charges for the use of a card outside Cyprus, money commitment, direct debits, as well as what to do when someone has a problem with the card.
A basic principle is that for cross-border withdrawals in euros banks should not charge a higher commission than they would charge for an equal amount of euro transaction within the country. For example, if the bank charges us €3 every time we withdraw money from an off-the-grid machine of our bank, the same amount must be charged when we withdraw in another EU country. European regulations are clear. "Banks based in EU countries outside the euro area are also required to apply this rule and are not allowed to charge for payments in euro to or within another EU country than they charge for domestic payments in their national currency. No additional fees are allowed for card, credit or debit payments.
Sometimes, when a reservation is made, e.g. at a hotel or a car rental company, it may be requested to provide the card details as a guarantee for the reservation. The merchant may also ask you to hold an amount from the card when you book. This means that the merchant holds part of the credit limit or account balance, to cover any additional charge that may arise, such as hotel room services or possible damage to a rented vehicle. The merchant must inform about whether he intends to reserve an amount from the credit card, while the cardholder - customer - will have to give the approval for this, as well as for the exact amount to be blocked.
What to do if you have a problem
If there are problems with payments made within the EU, the consumer should contact his bank or card provider. They must reply in writing to the complaint made within 15 days (or within a maximum of 35 days, in some exceptional cases). They must also have a formal consumer complaints procedure in place. If the customer-consumer needs assistance in recognizing his rights, he can contact FIN-NET for any problems with financial service providers or with ECC-Net for problems with merchants. When you pay for something in the EU using your credit or debit card, merchants and banks cannot charge an additional fee – also known as a 'surcharge' – just because you used a particular card. This rule applies to all card purchases (in shops or online) made within your home country or in another EU country.
POINT OF VIEW
Beware of card theft
We must be alert when we use or when we circulate with the cards abroad. Firstly so that we know what charges we have and secondly that no-one can steal them from us. For this reason, it is advisable for the card balance to be renewed at regular intervals and not to be full of money. But it is also important to avoid the inconvenience with theft declarations and the cancellation of a card. Just as important, is to ensure that our mobile phone is not stolen. Today the mobile is not just a phone and a list of names and phone numbers, but also a bank that we always have with us because from there we do our transactions.
