I am abroad, should I pay in ISK or EUR, and why?

When you shop abroad, you often have the option to choose between paying in Icelandic króna (ISK) or the local currency (EUR/USD/GBP, etc.).

To get the indó exchange rate, it’s important to always select the local currency of the country in which you are located.

For example, if you are in Denmark, choose Danish króna (DKK), and in Thailand, select Baht (THB).

Let’s take a short trip to Spain as an example, where the local currency is the Euro (EUR).

You are strolling through the streets of Madrid and spot an amazing fridge magnet of a flamenco dancer in full motion. It would be the crown jewel to your fridge back home! The merchant wraps up the magnet and hands you the card terminal. Now, you have two choices:

1. You pay in EUR – The transaction is sent to indó in euros, and we convert it into Icelandic króna at the exchange rate we receive from VISA (with no foreign exchange fee!). Transparency is key to everything we do, so you can always click on the transaction in your transaction history to see exactly what exchange rate you got. You can also check the current exchange rate here. In short, by selecting this option, you are buying euros directly from us.
2. You pay in ISK – In this case, the merchant is responsible for converting the transaction to ISK at an exchange rate they determine. The process works like this: The merchant processes the transaction in euros and converts it to ISK. indó receives the transaction in ISK, meaning we have no visibility into what the original euro amount was.

These transactions are usually more expensive, as the merchant can set whatever exchange rate they choose. Essentially, you are buying euros from the merchant, often at a much worse rate.

This applies to in-person card transactions abroad, ATM withdrawals, and online purchases in foreign stores. Some foreign ATMs do not give you the option to withdraw in the local currency and force transactions in ISK. We strongly recommend avoiding such ATMs and only using ATMs from verified financial institutions that allow withdrawals in the currency you prefer.