Uber recently sent users a notice announcing a change to its default settings. Starting February 27, 2025, Uber will automatically enable Preferred Currency Pricing, which means that when you use Uber in certain countries, your fare will be shown in your home currency by default. That may sound convenient, but there’s one important catch: this default setting comes with an extra 1.5% fee. Here are the main changes:

  • Your fare will be priced in your home currency by default, but that means you’ll pay a 1.5% conversion fee.
  • Seeing prices in your home currency may make the total easier to understand, but you could end up paying more.
  • If you don’t want the extra charge, you’ll need to manually change the setting and opt out.
Starting February 27, 2025, Preferred Currency Pricing (formerly Home Currency Pricing) will automatically show prices in your home currency when you travel to select countries to help make your international travel smoother and more convenient. You’ll be charged in your home currency unless you opt out.

By keeping your preferred currency as your home currency, you’ll pay the same fare for rides as the local currency. Prices of the rides will be shown in your home currency, with a fixed 1.5% conversion fee, so it’s easier to know how much you’re paying while abroad.


How do you opt out of Uber Preferred Currency Pricing? The process is actually very simple:

1. Open your Uber app and go to your Wallet settings.

2. Scroll down in the Wallet screen, find “Set preferred currency,” and tap it.

3. Once you’re on the preferred currency page, you’ll see that your home currency is selected by default. If you want to opt out, choose “No preferred currency.”

Once you set it to “No preferred currency,” you should not need to change it again in the future. But keep in mind that if you have not already opted out, Uber may now have this setting selected for you by default. So if you want to avoid paying the extra 1.5% fee, you need to manually opt out. It’s a good idea to check your settings after February 27 to make sure it has not reverted to the default.

For some users, being able to view Uber fares in their home currency may be worth paying the 1.5% surcharge. But for many people, it probably isn’t. While I appreciate that Uber was transparent about the default-setting change, the fact that almost everyone has to proactively opt out to avoid the fee doesn’t feel great. In the past, many hotels and restaurants have offered foreign visitors the option to pay in their home currency, but they usually provided a worse exchange rate—at least customers could choose before each transaction. Uber, by contrast, is making this the default.

I’d recommend opting out as soon as possible, even if you don’t have any international travel plans coming up soon.