| Account | Network | Type | Overseas foreign ATM fees | International ATM surcharge rebates | Foreign currency transaction fees | annual/ monthly fees | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koho Premium (Peoples Trust) | Visa | Prepaid | 0 | 1 per 30 days rolling | 0 | $9 monthly or $84 annually | |
| Stack (Peoples Trust) | Mastercard | Prepaid | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | not available in Quebec. No load fee. Max 2 ATM withdrawals per day. |
| Manulife Bank Advantage Account | Maestro | Debit | 0 | none, but surcharge free at Allpoint ATMs abroad | 0 | 0 | need to keep $1000 min. balance to avoid all transaction fees. |
| SBI Canada Chequing Account | Maestro | Debit | 0 | none, but surcharge free at Allpoint ATMs abroad | 0 | $4 monthly | monthly fee can be waived with $1000 min. balance or being over 60, under 18 or a student. |
| crypto.com Midnight Blue (DC Bank) | Visa | Prepaid | $250 per month free, then $5 | - | 0 | 0 | see terms |
| LBC Digital Chequing Account | Plus | Debit in Canada, ATM only abroad | 0 in the US at Allpoint ATMs, $4 elsewhere | none, but surcharge free at Allpoint ATMs in the US | 0 in the US, 2.5% elsewhere | 0 | |
| Brim Financial | Mastercard | Credit | $5 + 1.64% interest per month | - | 0 | 0 | |
| Home Trust Preferred | Visa | Credit | 1.50%, min. $5.50 + 1.53% interest per month | - | 0 | 0 | not available in Quebec |
| ICBC Dual Currency Select | China UnionPay | Credit | $5 + 1.66% interest per month | - | 0 | $19 annually, waived for first year | annual fee can be waived with $1000 in transactions |
| Scotiabank Passport Infinite | Visa | Credit | ($3.50 at Global ATM Alliance, $7.50 elsewhere) + 1.74% interest per month | - | 0 | $139 | |
| HSBC World Elite | Mastercard | Credit | $4 + 1.74% interest per month | - | 0 | $149 |
Recommendations:
Tangerine used to be the Canadian travellers’ favorite up to now, but they started charging a 2.5% currency conversion fee, which makes them less attractive. Best alternative is Manulife or the new Stack prepaid card.
If you’re going to countries where ATM surcharges are the norm the Koho Premium card is worth thinking about. Simple maths tells you that unless you use an ATM every month that surcharges at least $9 you’ll be in the red. But say you used an ATM that charges $5. You’d be $4 out of pocket, but with a different card it would actually be $5. And if you then factor in the 2% cashback (groceries, eating & drinking and transportation) and you see it’s not a bad deal. You can cancel and reactivate the Premium benefits on a monthly basis, which is great – no fees while your not traveling, the regular Koho version is free. Unless you’re traveling longterm I wouldn’t go for the yearly payment option.
For spending: the best credit cards are the Home Trust card and the new Brim card. Alternatively Maestro debit cards (like Manulife) can also be used abroad, see below.
Notes:
- Almost all Canadian debit and credit cards charge a 2.5% currency conversion fee, the above are some of the exceptions.
- Scotiabank and Tangerine are members of the Global ATM Alliance and offer free ATM withdrawals at their partner banks worldwide, but still charge the 2.5% conversion fee
- Desjardins and UNI offer free ATM withdrawals at Credit Mutuel in France and Desjardins Bank ATMs in Florida, but will also still hit you with those 2.5%. Same goes for TD and BMO both of which also have US subsidiaries.
- The Canadian debit card system Interac does not work overseas, so Canadian debit cards come cobranded with international networks to ensure access overseas, with varying levels of functionality:
- Cirrus or Plus only cards do not work for POS purchases abroad (with exception of the US where there are some arragements through NYCE and Accel), but many Canadian banks issue debit cards that are this limited (that’s Simplii, RBC, Laurentian, DC Bank, First Nations, ATB, HSBC, Desjardins, many Credit Unions etc.).
- Maestro cards work fine overseas at ATMs and many PIN based Point-of-Sale terminals, but Canadian Maestro cards do not work for internet purchases. Having a second card that works online would be helpful, e.g. a credit card or prepaid card.
- Scotiabank, TD, BMO and CIBC are expensive but issue debit cards with full Visa or Mastercard debit functionality, which can be used everywhere: ATM, POS and online. Tangerine now issues such a card as well.
- ICBC distributes China UnionPay debit (also cobranded) and credit cards without currency exchange fees. China UnionPay works in some form in 162 countries, but especially POS is still limited except for North America and North Asia, where it cooperates with Discover and local networks.
- If your bank/card participates in the Exchange network, you get surcharge free ATM access at around 40000 Allpoint ATMs in the US.