Scotiabank foreign transaction fee is 2.5%
By Karla CastroUpdated October 31, 2026
Scotiabank's credit card fee page prints a foreign currency conversion fee of 2.5% of the converted amount, on both debit and credit transactions. Passport Visa Infinite +, Passport Visa Infinite Privilege, Gold American Express, and Platinum American Express have no foreign currency conversion fee. Only the exchange rate applies on those four.
The 2.5% and the cards that skip it
Opened 31 October 2026. The fee page says rates are effective as of 1 February 2026 unless otherwise indicated. The transaction fee table lists foreign currency conversion at 2.5%. The footnote says that is 2.5% of the converted amount, applied to both debit and credit transactions. It does not apply to Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +, Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege, Scotiabank Gold American Express, and Scotiabank Platinum American Express. For those cards there is no foreign currency conversion fee, and only the exchange rate applies. The page also says to read the disclosure statement for your own card.
The fee sits on top of the exchange rate. The posted line is often the purchase in Canadian dollars, with the 2.5% already inside it, rather than a second line named foreign transaction fee.
Passport Visa Infinite, without the plus, is not in that exemption list. Do not treat it as a no fee card unless your own disclosure says so.
How to avoid the 2.5%
Use one of the four cards the footnote names if you want no foreign currency conversion fee. The Passport Visa Infinite + card page also says there is no foreign transaction fee on purchases in a foreign currency, and that just the exchange rate applies.
A merchant that bills you in Canadian dollars for a foreign purchase is converting the price before Scotiabank does. That is dynamic currency conversion.
Upload the statement on Expenvo. The PDF stays on your device. Expenvo lists the lines. It does not sign in to the bank, and it does not move the money.
Questions
- How much is Scotiabank's foreign currency conversion fee?
- The fee page effective 1 February 2026 prints 2.5% of the converted amount, on both debit and credit transactions.
- Which Scotiabank cards have no foreign currency conversion fee?
- Passport Visa Infinite +, Passport Visa Infinite Privilege, Gold American Express, and Platinum American Express. Only the exchange rate applies.
- Does the fee apply to a refund?
- The footnote says the 2.5% applies to both debit and credit transactions. A credit is the refund side. The four named cards are exempt.