Absolutely. It’s a totally rip-off, but CBA determines what charges are on their cards. They apply a 3% charge for transactions processed overseas in AUD to all their cards, except the Platinum and Diamond Awards cards.
https://www.commbank.com.au/personal/credit-cards/card-fees-charges.html
A timely item in the SMH, reinforcing what I have posted over time. Our banks do us because they can.
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I rarely need to go into a bank but was pleasantly surprised by my bank’s exceptional customer service when I did recently. No amount of technology can replace the customer service this particular gentleman provided us. My greatest fear is with technology taking over so many human employment roles, what do the humans do for employment? Everyone does not have the same intelligence level, so we do need to think about those people and how they can be productive in our society and how they can earn an income which they can live on without being destitute.
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I opened an ING Orange account last week because it looked good compared to my Bank of Melbourne account, and had only a single ‘game’, that being to deposit $1,000 pcm to earn the highest interest in the linked saver for the following month. The rest of the account was similar to the majors excepting only a 2.5% overseas surcharge, better than the majors’ and their captive minors’ 3% hits.
This morning ING announced a change effective March 2018. To get the highest saver interest in the following month one has to deposit $1,000 pcm AND make at least 5 purchases on the debit or an Orange One card, and in addition to the higher interest foreign transaction fees are waived for that following month, too. The details are at the bottom of this page, and are fairly clear.
That latter change from March 2018 could be interesting to world travelers.
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But purchasing goods and services in a foreign currency from a supplier overseas is not the same thing as thinking you are buying in Australian dollars from a company in Australia advertising their wares in Australian dollars. We all know and (reluctantly accept) that making purchases in a foreign currency attracts an international transfer fee. It’s the same fees charged when you are not expecting them that are the issue.
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That depends on your bank. I recently changed to ING that waives international fees if you made 5 transactions on the debit card in the previous month. Their online saver also has 2.8% interest if you do that. I shopped. I found a better deal. I took it up. 
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This gouging continues, but we need to maintain the struggle. We may read more about it when the UK leaves the EU and its population finds that its banks are liberated from EU rules which essentially prevent banks charging more for cross-border transactions than would be imposed for national transactions.
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I recently upgraded my Norton Internet Security to Norton Security when my current subscription was coming up for renewal. At the same time I took advantage of a deal to get 2 years subscription for about an extra $30. I received an order confirmation for $155.99. When I checked my credit card statement, I was surprised to find I’d been charged an extra $4.67 “Foreign Transaction Fee”. I was using the Norton’s Australia web page and all prices were listed in AUD. There was no reference anywhere to foreign transaction fees that I am aware of. The agent on the online chat session also quoted in AUD and made no mention of a foreign transaction fee. To say I was a bit miffed would be an understatement. I contacted Norton via their online chat, explained the situation and was immediately offered a $5 refund. It does pay to know your rights and to complain in a nice, non-threatening way!
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Sorry, should have stated, according to Norton, it wasn’t them that charged the fee, but my bank, which from a customer point of view is irrelevant unless they clearly state the charge will be made in a foreign currency.
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I notice Macquarie Bank credit card offers the same horrible international transaction fee on an Australian purchase, yet they also offer a completely international fee free account for their debit card. So confusing!
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The banks do not stop with ‘made in a foreign currency’. They include their fee on any ‘purchase processed offshore’, even if in $AUD. Anyone doing much off shore purchasing might check an ING Orange account. It has a fairly low bar to be exempted from those pesky fees.
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Another subscription which attracts foreign bank charges is Ancestry.com.au despite the subscription being published in AUD $ on their AU site.
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Another card that sides mot charge international transaction fees is UBank Debit Visa card.
