Are you kidding me… a 3% fee to charge a foreign transaction?  Who makes this call?  I wonder …

So, yes, you might guess that I am a little miffed right now, and what better outlet than here to share.  I just reviewed my credit card statement and noticed a 3% charge – news to me – on my payment for a Canadian training.  No doubt there was some random communication from Chase about this change in service and fee structure that I did not read.  So I am not complaining about not being notified.  I am complaining and wondering who really believes that assessing a 3% fee, above and beyond the “normal” additional credit card fees, is reasonable, fair, and sustainable?  What person or committee develops this kind of decision?  Where is the relationship to service and value?  How much harder is it to process a charge for services across the border, really?  Give me, give us, a break!

Here is my next action, after researching competing company policy on similar charges:  I will call the credit card company to state the facts and negotiate.  We will see what happens.  And, this does not alter my original wondering … how do charges like this manifest in an already exorbitant fee system?

Do you relate to this issue? How does this issue (or opportunity) manifest in areas of your life?  This goes beyond the banking system of fees; it is perplexing.  What am I missing?  Perhaps I am barking up a 1000-year old redwood and yet, I am still curious.