Making the most of your credit card abroad: tips for international spending

You do not need to tell us if you’re going outside the UK, as we automatically monitor foreign transactions on your account to help protect you. It’s important we have the most up-to-date contact details for you, in case we need to contact you while you’re away. Please ensure that you check we have your correct contact details using the M&S Banking App^*, Internet Banking or by calling us on 0345 900 0900.

If you need any help while you’re away, you can contact us in Chat on our app and Internet Banking^**. We also recommend that you save our number in your phone (from overseas call +44 (0)1244 879080) in case you cannot access our app. Enjoy your trip!

You can use your M&S Credit Card to pay for goods and services wherever you see the MasterCard logo. You can also withdraw cash (a ‘cash advance’) from cash machines where MasterCard is accepted – fees apply, please see details below. Some cash machine operators may also apply a direct charge for withdrawals from their cash machines and this will be advised on-screen at the time of withdrawal. A £300 daily cash machine withdrawal limit applies to M&S Credit Cards.

When you make a transaction in a foreign currency or cash advance/withdrawal with your M&S Credit Card, rates and fees may be added.

Any foreign currency transactions, including cash advances/withdrawals, are converted to sterling by Mastercard or Visa, using the wholesale market rates applying on the day conversion is made. Check the Mastercard website (M&S Credit Card) for more information on the rate of exchange they use when converting your transaction.

We will deduct the payment and the relevant fees from your account once we receive the details of the payment from MasterCard/Visa. This will usually be within one working day.

When you use your M&S Credit Card outside the UK you may be asked if you want to pay in sterling or the local currency.

When you choose local currency you’ll be charged the Visa or Mastercard global rate. If you choose to complete a transaction in sterling the merchant sets the rate. Sterling transactions often have additional commission added to them and therefore may be more expensive than paying in the local currency, even with the fees.

When you use your card in the European Economic Area (EEA), you may be able to choose to pay in the local currency or in pound sterling. If you decide to pay in pound sterling, you'll pay the currency conversion charges offered by the ATM or point of sale (POS) service provider (e.g. the company providing the card machine). If you choose to pay in the local currency, the conversion will be done by us for a charge.

The currency you choose to pay in will vary how much you're charged. Under European Union (EU) Regulation, all parties must publish their currency conversion charges as a percentage mark-up over the "reference rate" last issued by the European Central Bank (ECB). You can see our current mark-ups for each EEA currency below. You can use these to compare our rates with the published rates of other providers. 

First, consider whether you're making an ATM withdrawal or making a card payment (e.g. paying in a shop or restaurant) in an EEA currency. Next, use the handy table on this page to find the local currency.

The lower the percentage, the lower the mark-up. If the rate is lower than the most recently published ECB reference rate, it will be prefixed with a minus symbol. 

The table is updated regularly using the published ECB reference exchange rates. If you decide to pay in local currency, the conversion of the payment transaction will be done at the rates applied by Mastercard. 

The mark-ups displayed below may differ from the actual currency conversion charge applied to your payment because: 

• Mastercard convert transactions into sterling using the exchange rate applicable on the day that the transaction is processed. This processing date may be different to the day on which you ask us to make the payment. 
• This means that the actual percentage mark-up applied could be higher or lower than the rate indicated in the tables below. ECB and Mastercard rates may change between updates to the tables. As these percentage mark-ups can vary, due to the above factors which are outside of our control, please treat the table provided as indicative only.

*Available on compatible devices

**Some geographical limitations may apply