Hi
Yes currency conversion isn’t free. You might get a better rate with a credit card if you have one.
If we assume that the payment originates from Germany, then I read the table to say (destination UK, sender Europe I) that paypal charges the OSMF 0.5% if it is from a bank account, and 3.9% + 0.2£ if you pay by credit card.
I didn’t know about those SEPA rules. Indeed unfortunate that it does not apply to pounds.
I agree that it would be advantageous to have the possibilities you outline, unfortunately we are currently not able to provide those options. For completeness, I would like to mention that it is possible to donate to the OSMF through the German FOSSGIS in Euros.
That is the answer I can offer from the OSMF perspective. Now I would like to offer my personal opinion. The following does not reflect the opinion of the OSMF or the Membership Working Group, but is my personal opinion:
You should see all this in a bit more perspective. To be blunt, to haggle about these few % that you and the OSMF are charged for the transfer is a first world problem. We try to enable people from all over the world to become members of the OSMF. And there are many regions where it is virtually impossible to transfer the membership fee, if the people can afford it. Even if you just go to some eastern European states, the bank fees can be as high as the membership fee itself. Now imagine you live in Africa, and it gets even harder. There are not many banks even willing to to work with such transactions, because receiving money from all kinds of states raises many red flags, where the bank has to look more closely and that costs the banks, so our options are severely limited. We will always try to improve, but please be patient if we focus on the third world first, where the situation is much worse.
Michael
