How to spot a Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) charge at any terminal

1Search intent and target audience

Travellers who suspect they've been overcharged abroad and want to understand DCC. Educational, high engagement.

2Keywords (with GSC data)

GSC impressions, position and clicks shown for each keyword. Data from your top 1000 queries (last 16 months). 'Related' = no exact match in top 1000, closest variant shown. 'Not in GSC top 1000' = below export cutoff; consider external keyword research tool for volume.

Secondary keywords:

3Article structure (H2 outline)

1. What DCC actually isThe terminal asks 'pay in pounds?'. Merchant chooses the conversion rate, adds 3-7%.
2. Where you'll see itRestaurants, hotels, shops, ATMs — anywhere with a foreign card terminal.
3. The exact button to pressAlways 'local currency'. Always.
4. Why merchants push DCC so hardThey get a commission on the markup. Of course they push it.
5. ATM DCC: the worst versionSome ATMs flash the 'convert to GBP?' screen aggressively. EuroNet is notorious.
6. How much DCC costs over a 2-week tripWalked example: family of four on a Mediterranean holiday could pay £80-150 in DCC alone.
7. Apple Pay / Google Pay considerationsSame rules apply. Same prompt may appear.

4Key points and facts to include

• Use real example screens / button labels (e.g. Spanish: 'Cobrar en GBP / EUR?').
• Specific brand names that push DCC hardest: EuroNet ATMs.
• Walk-through cost calculation: a £40 dinner with 5% DCC = £2 extra. Adds up across 14 days.

5Live-data injection points

For the tech team. Each point below is where dynamic data from the main Travel FX site needs to be injected into the WordPress post.

6Internal links: commercial pages

Minimum 3 commercial-page links per article. Use descriptive anchor text.

• /buy-currencyAnchor text: "buy currency before you fly to reduce card use abroad"

7Internal links: sibling content

Minimum 3 sibling links to other briefs / blog posts. Helps internal link equity.

• /briefs/w1-fri-9-scams/Anchor text: "9 travel money scams"
• /briefs/w12-fri-cash-or-card/Anchor text: "Cash or card abroad — full comparison"

8External sources to reference / cite

• UK Finance guidance on DCC
• Visa/Mastercard public DCC policy pages

9SEO metadata

10Hero image direction

Hero: stylised illustration of a card terminal with a 'choose currency' prompt — instructional, not stock photo.

11Notes and risks

Evergreen. Mention any new card-network rules (Visa, Mastercard updates) when refreshing.