What Is a "Foreign Transaction Fee" on My Bank Statement?

A foreign transaction fee is a 1–3% charge added by your bank or card issuer when you make a purchase processed outside the US or billed in a foreign currency.

Plain-English explanation

Foreign transaction fees are charged by the card-issuing bank (not Visa or Mastercard) — typically 1–3%. Many travel-focused cards (Chase Sapphire, Capital One Venture, Schwab Visa Debit) waive this entirely. The fee applies even to online purchases if the payment is processed by an overseas acquirer.

Most common reasons this appears

• International travel purchase paid by card
• Online purchase from a non-US website billed in a foreign currency
• Subscription to an international service in local currency (e.g., UK subscription billed in GBP)

How to verify this charge

• Find the foreign-currency transaction this fee corresponds to.
• Check your card's terms at the issuer's website for the foreign transaction fee rate.
• If your card shouldn't charge this fee, contact your bank to dispute.

When to be concerned

• Fee on a card with a no-foreign-transaction-fee policy.
• Fee on a domestic USD purchase with no international component.
• Fee rate significantly higher than 3%.

Part of: Bank fees & transaction issues →