The convenience of using ridesharing services when abroad – either on personal or business trips – cannot be discredited.
“Because of the efficient use of idle resources, ridesharing can provide cheaper travel costs for passengers compared with [other forms],” a study conducted by Asian researchers pointed out.
True? Absolutely. You can simply tell the difference between hailing a traditional cab from using a ridesharing service like Uber. More and more travelers are preferring ridesharing over traditional transport methods, according to Statista.
However, business is business. Yesterday, Travel + Leisure revealed that Uber will be one of the first, if not the first, to add new fees on trips abroad, starting this February 27th, though you can still change your settings to avoid this burden.
The new feature rolled out is known as Preferred Currency Pricing, which allows you to pay in your “preferred” or home currency even while abroad. This applies to destinations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and countries within the European Union.
“Preferred Currency Pricing (formerly Home Currency Pricing) will automatically show prices in your home currency when you travel to select countries to help make your international travel smoother and more convenient. You’ll be charged in your home currency unless you opt out,” an official Uber email stated.
Officially, Uber will start charging a flat fee of 1.5 percent when you convert from a foreign currency using its app. However, no exchange rate has actually been stated.
Trips in the countries not mentioned won’t be affected just yet.
This means that instead of being charged in the local currency – say in US dollars if you are in New York – you can pay in your home currency, such as the British pound if you live in Great Britain.
But, can you opt-out of this? For sure, and the Uber email has guaranteed this. So, it’s not the end of fun for you.
This is a similar system that retailers, restaurants, and ATMs offer. But, if you think this is not convenient for you, such as when you feel you will save more when you pay in the local currency, though highly unlikely, you can adjust the settings on the Uber app to opt-out and not be charged with the 1.5 percent additional fee.
On the app, proceed to your account details found in the bottom right, then choose “Wallet” at the top portion. From there on, scroll down below your payment methods to see the “Preferred Currency” feature. There in, you can see the options whether you’ll pay in USD, euros, Canadian dollars, or GBP.
There is the option “No preferred currency,” so you can pay for each ride in the local currency.
Developers are working on smoothing out this process. To keep yourself in the loop, sign up for your account at this Ridesharing Forum website. Chime in the discussion!