> I'm not sure what would motivate someone handing you a card reader to try to cheat you
Immense pressure from their boss?
The first few times I let it go, wanting to believe an honest mistake, but when it started happening so frequently, I realised _someone_ in the chain is trying to scam me.
Anyone below an international corporation isn't getting cut in on the benefits. Maybe the big hotels and car rental (being large enough for the card companies to negotiate such a thing with in addition to having a significant enough percentage of foreign card transactions) services would see some benefit from that but I don't think most places would care.
There is always the other side that, although it's not a competitive exchange rate, at least you know the exact amount in your home currency. Also, I never remember which cards have foreign currency fees so it is a bit of a wash.
Immense pressure from their boss?
The first few times I let it go, wanting to believe an honest mistake, but when it started happening so frequently, I realised _someone_ in the chain is trying to scam me.