Which debit cards are cheapest to use abroad?
Many banks charge a range of fees for spending with your card abroad.
Others may claim that their cards are free to use abroad, but you’ll still be charged for withdrawing cash – this can be unavoidable in many countries.
Here we reveal the banks that don’t charge any fees for both card spending and withdrawing cash abroad.
Best banks for spending abroad
Here are the only accounts that are truly fee-free to use abroad, ranked by provider customer score:
Table note: Fees correct as of June 2024. Customer Score: Our rating for customer satisfaction, based on feedback from real customers. The score is made up of a customer’s overall satisfaction with the brand, and how likely they are to recommend that brand to a friend. Starling and First Direct are Which? Recommended Providers (WRPs). We surveyed 4,550 members of the general public in August 2023. Our full table includes scores and star ratings for all banks.
Banks with no fees for spending abroad reviews
Starling
Which? Recommended Provider Starling is popular with travellers because it lets you spend on your debit card abroad without racking up a huge bill.
Fellow challenger bank Monzo is another great option for holidays but it charges 3% if you withdraw more than £250 a month in the UK or European Economic Area (EEA) countries or £200 in non-EEA countries. Starling is fee-free for all purchases and cash withdrawals.
Starling accounts must be operated via a mobile banking app.
In our most recent survey, Starling earned the highest customer score of any bank and was given five stars for customer service, complaints handling and its app.
First Direct
First Direct, another Which? Recommended Provider, scrapped foreign transaction fees in June 2023 – previously, the bank added a 2.75% markup on both purchases and withdrawals.
That means customers can use their cards just as they do at home in the UK.
In our most recent survey, First Direct was given five stars for customer service, complaints handling and online banking services.
- Find out more: Banks rated by thousands of customers
What will I pay to use my card abroad?
You can use your debit card abroad to make purchases and withdraw local currency from cash machines just as you would at home (look for the Visa or Mastercard logo), but you’ll generally be charged one or all of the following fees:
- For purchases, you’ll usually pay a non-sterling transaction fee for converting the local currency, which applies every time you use your card to pay.
- The worst debit cards add a non-sterling purchase fee on top, often of fixed value (eg £1.50), but can also be a percentage of what you spent.
- Cash withdrawals at a foreign ATM incur a non-sterling transaction fee for the conversion as well as a non-sterling cash fee (as a flat fee or a percentage).
Avoid using a debit card to make lots of small payments as the charges can quickly escalate (unless you have one of the fee-free cards in the table above).
As an example, a standard TSB debit card incurs fees of 2.99% plus £1 per transaction and 1.5% for cash withdrawals (minimum £2, maximum £4.50). So making two £50 purchases and three £50 cash withdrawals would result in charges of £15.48.
Should I pay with a credit card instead?
Credit cards come in handy if your hotel or car hire firm asks to temporarily hold a specific amount of the available balance, upon booking.
This is known as pre-authorisation – no funds are debited from your account, but firms use this to ensure that you’ll be able to settle the bill if you incur any additional charges.
There are a number of specialist travel credit cards that are far cheaper than the average debit cards.
Credit cards can be handy when you’re abroad, as you get top exchange rates and purchases between £100 and £30,000 benefit are covered by Section 75 (meaning the credit card company is jointly liable if the product or service is inadequate).
The downside is that you’ll typically be charged interest as soon as you withdraw cash from an ATM until you pay it back.
- Find out more: best travel credit cards