How does the trick work?
According to To report you can switch to PayPal, the standard means of payment for some German credit cards, instead of euros to Argentine pesos (ARS). If you then store this credit card as the standard payment method in Paypal, you should save around 40 percent wherever Paypal is accepted. However, it should be noted that not all credit cards are supported.
How was the trick tested?
We tried it out ourselves on the evening of 01/23/2023 and bought a software for 186 US dollars via PayPal with an Ing Diba Visa credit card. Previously, we had removed the card from our PayPal account and then re-added it with the currency Argentine Pesos (ARS).
186 US dollars correspond to approx. 171 euros according to the current exchange rate. However, only an amount of 100 euros was debited from our account. A reader of the tabloid Bild reported that he had transferred 1,000 euros to his wife via Paypal’s friends function and only 600 euros were debited.
Bought for $186…
…and only paid 100 €.
Which credit cards work with the trick?
According to the platform’s comments MyDealz The flaw can only be exploited with the following Visa credit and debit cards: Vivid, DKB, Barclays, ING, Amazon Visa, Klarna. Among other things, you can buy vouchers, groceries and electronics cheaper.
Parallel course for tourists
Due to the economic crisis in Argentina, the country’s central bank introduced an exchange rate specially designed for tourists about two months ago. If you pay with a foreign credit card, the amount will be charged at a lower rate. Aside from the official exchange rate, an unofficial parallel exchange rate for cash had developed some time ago, so that tourists increasingly traveled with cash.
While Mastercard initially charges its customers the official rate and later refunds the difference, Visa settles the sum paid in Argentine pesos directly at the tourist rate. Of course, the rate should not actually be applied to transactions abroad.
Conclusion
Whether this action can be considered a scam is debatable. Many users are convinced that there is no obvious deception and that the action was not actively requested by the customers.
However, Visa is quite able to charge the actual amount as the expected exchange rate is not binding. However, whether a refund is possible depends on the exact circumstances and conditions of the promotion.
It remains to be seen whether the “Paypal trick” will ultimately work permanently and whether it will be tolerated by PayPal and the banks concerned.
Pay now at MediaMarkt with PayPal! Take the opportunity…
Amazon NBB
- PayPal customers save 40% with pesos instead of euros.
- Not all credit cards are supported.
- Example: 186 US dollars were debited as 100 euros.
- Supported credit cards: Vivid, DKB, Barclays, ING, Amazon Visa, Klarna.
- Reason: Argentina has a special tourist exchange rate.
- Visa settles the amount directly at the tourist rate.
- Fraud? Paypal and banks have to decide whether to tolerate it.
