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Nationwide Building Society, reversing a well-advertised marketing stance, will start charging its debit and credit cardholders for some transactions made overseas, a spokesperson for the financial institution tells CardLine Global. United Kingdom-based Nationwide had been among the few issuers in the UK to allow its cardholders to make foreign transactions without extra fees, according to the spokesperson, who says the new rules largely were brought about by the worsening economy. Starting on 1 May, Nationwide's credit cardholders will pay 0.84% of the transaction value as a foreign-payment fee. Debit cardholders will pay the same rate starting on 1 June. The rate for both credit and debit cards will increase to 1% of sale on 1 July. The rates represent what Visa Europe charges for foreign transactions, a cost Nationwide had absorbed. Nationwide issues 1.7 million Visa-branded credit cards. The financial institution has 4.4 million accountholders, the vast majority of whom have either a Visa-branded debit card or a MasterCard Worldwide-branded "cash card". The latter cannot be used for foreign purchases, the spokesperson says. Nationwide will not charge its own foreign-transaction fee, the spokesperson says. Those rates, often called "commissions" in the UK, typically are between 2.75% and 3% of transaction value, the spokesperson says. The new Nationwide rates apply only to transactions made outside the European Union and in some other countries, so consumers using their cards in such countries as France or Germany will not pay the added cost.
