FX Transparency Regulations adopted by EEA Countries

EFTA has announced that the CBPR2 regulations, active across the EU since 2020, are being adopted by EEA countries. This means that from July 2025, all EEA banks that issue payment cards must clearly present the currency conversion cost in their terms & conditions and on a publicly available website and by July 2026, those banks must also send their customers electronic notifications (SMS, email, push) of the currency conversion cost after each cross border, foreign currency card transaction.

Foreign currency rates and fees have long been a source of contention with end-consumers who have difficulty comparing cross border payment services that use differing fees, rates and commission structures. While the growth of disruptive new entrants such as Revolut, Curve and TransferWise has improved the range of products & services available, the new regulation will drive a significant increase in the transparency associated with the currency conversion rates and transfer fees applied to all forms of cross border payments within the EU. 

The EU regulation defines the ECB reference currency conversion rate as a common benchmark for comparing the cost of foreign exchange, whereas most bank card issuers source their currency exchange services from the card schemes (including Mastercard, Visa, AMEX, etc.).

Historically, these card schemes provide foreign currency services at rates which have varied vs. the ECB benchmark. Assuming this variance continues, European banks will be communicating different currency conversion costs for every currency, every day – resulting in an inconsistent customer experience which will leave customers confused as to the true cost of using their payment cards abroad.

Consider the example of a leading Norwegian bank which applies a 2% fee on all cross-border card payments. Over the course of a single week, a customer could be presented with charges on an EUR transaction that varies from 2.2% to 2.95%. As a consumer, the experience of receiving notifications from your bank each day, presenting a different cost of spending in EUR is likely to become, at a minimum, a marketing and communication challenge and, at worst, a tangible opportunity for disruptive new competitors to capture market share.

Cambrist is uniquely positioned to help existing issuers of debit, credit and prepaid card products comply with this regulation. We provide relevant data and fully managed compliance solutions to this regulation for >100 card programmes across 8 languages in Europe. If you’d like to discuss how Cambrist can help your business, please email us at info@cambrist.com, visit our website at www.cambrist.com or contact me or any of our team via LinkedIn.