Account | Network | Type | Foreign ATM fees outside SEPA | International ATM surcharge fee rebates | Foreign currency transaction fees | annual/ monthly fees | Eligible countries | notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BNC10 | Mastercard | Prepaid | 3 per month free | 3 per month | 0 | 0 | Most EU citizens | Max. 500€ withdrawal per month allowed. No load fee. Spanish account. Automatic refund of surcharges only works if the surcharge is listed separately on the receipt, otherwise you have to contact them. |
Bitwala | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | All EEA countries | German bank |
N26 You | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 9,90€ monthly | Most EEA countries | German bank |
Monese Premium | Mastercard | Prepaid | 0 | - | 0 | 14,95€ monthly | All EEA countries | Belgian euro account |
Tomorrow Zero | Visa | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 15€ monthly | all Eurozone countries | German Bank |
Bunq easyMoney | Mastercard or Maestro | Debit | 10 per month free, then 0,99€ | - | 0 | 7,99€ monthly | Most EEA countries | Dutch bank |
Ferratum Bank Current Account | Mastercard | Debit | 4 per month free, then 2,99€ | - | 0 | 0 | Most Eurozone Countries plus Norway and Sweden | Maltese bank. Account can also be in GBP, SEK, CHF, NOK, PLN or DKK. Further EU/EEA countries planned. No SEPA direct debits. |
Zen | Mastercard | Prepaid | 300€ per month free, then 1,5% | - | 0 | 0,99€ monthly | All EU countries | Lithuanian account |
Aion Bank Light Membership | Mastercard or Maestro | Debit | 300€ per month free, then 2% | - | 0 | 1,90€ monthly | Many EEA countries | Belgian bank, use own exchange rates |
Paysend Global Account | Mastercard | Prepaid | 200€ per month free, then 2% | - | 0 | 0 | All EEA countries | UK based. annual ATM withdrawal limit is 5000€. top-up by card only. |
Monese Classic | Mastercard | Prepaid | 800€ per month free, then 2% | - | 8000€ per month free, then 2% | 4,99€ monthly | All EEA countries | Belgian based. No SEPA direct debits yet (planned 2019) |
Monese Simple | Mastercard | Prepaid | 200€ per month free, then 2% | - | 2000€ per month free, then 2% | 0 | All EEA countries | Belgian based. No SEPA direct debits yet (planned 2019) |
Crypto.com | Visa | Prepaid | 200€ per month free, then 2% | 2000€ per month free, then 0,5% | 0 | All EEA countries | Maltese account. own exchange rates. inactivity fee of 5€ after 12 months. card cancellation costs 50€, see terms. | |
Revolut | Mastercard or Visa | Prepaid | 200€ per month free, then 2% | - | 0-3% depending on weekday etc. | 0 | All EEA countries | Lithuania based. Exchange rate top-up for certain currencies and on weekends between 0,5 and 2%, see disclosure. 8€ one-time card fee, no load fee. Auto Top-up possible. Account can also be in other European currencies. Card does not work in these countries. |
Curve Blue | Mastercard | Debit | 200€ per month free, then 2% min. 2€ | - | 0-3,5% depending on weekday etc. | 0 | most EEA countries | UK based. have to already have a Mastercard or Visa to use service. Supported card currencies include: GBP, EUR, USD, SEK, NOK, CHF, BGN, CZK, DKK, HRK, HUF, ISK, PLN, RON. Own exchange rates, on weekends 0,5-1,5% worse. |
Vivid Money Standard | Visa | Debit | 200€ per month free, then 3% | - | 0,5% | 0 | All EEA countries | German bank |
Tomorrow | Visa | Debit | 1,5% | - | 0 | 0 | all Eurozone countries | German bank |
2gether | Visa | Prepaid | 1,5% | - | 0 | 0 | all Eurozone countries | Spanish account |
N26 Bank Account | Mastercard | Debit | 1,7% | - | 0 | 0 | Most EU & EFTA countries | German bank. |
Bunq Travel Card | Mastercard | Credit | 0,99€ | - | 0 | 0 | All EEA countries | 9,99€ one time fee. no credit check. dutch bank. |
DiPocket | Mastercard | Prepaid | 1€ | - | 1% | 0 | All EEA countries | UK regulated, accounts based in Poland. no load fee Cards available in: GBP,EUR,PLN, USD |
Transferwise Borderless Account | Mastercard | Debit | £200 per 30 days free, then 2% | - | 0.35%-2.85% | 0 | All EEA countries | Belgian based. You can add money directly to your account in 18 currencies including: BGN, CHF, CZK, DKK, EUR, GBP, HRK, HUF, NOK, PLN, RON, SEK. Card currency is GBP. |
DKB-Cash | Visa | Credit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Austria, Germany, Switzerland | German bank. 700€ monthly deposit required after 12 months to still enjoy 0% currency conversion. |
Advanzia Bank | Mastercard | Credit | 1,53-2% interest per month, depending on issuing country | - | 0 | 0 | Austria, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain | Luxembourgish Bank. German customers would be wise to pick this cobranded card, because only it offers autopay by SEPA direct debit. |
Cofidis | Mastercard or Visa | Credit | depends on issuing country | - | 0 | depends on issuing country | Belgium, Portugal, Spain, France, Czech Republic | |
BNP Paribas Personal Finance | Mastercard | Credit | depends on issuing country | - | 0 | depends on issuing country | Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany | |
Societe Generale Consumer Finance | Mastercard or Visa | Credit | depends on issuing country | - | 0 | depends on issuing country | Germany, Romania | |
ICBC | UnionPay | Debit | 0,50-2,50€ depending on issuing country | - | 0 | depends on issuing country | Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain | |
Openbank | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | 5 per month | 0 | 7,99€ monthly | Germany, Netherlands, Portugal | |
Klarna | Visa | Credit | not possible | - | 0 | 0 | Sweden, Germany | |
Lunar Way | Visa or Mastercard | Debit | depends on issuing country | - | 0-1% | 0-69DKK monthly | Denmark, Norway, Sweden | |
Bank Norwegian | Visa | Credit | 0 | - | 1,75% | 0 | Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark | Norwegian bank |
Unicredit Bank U Konto | Mastercard | Debit | 2 per month free, then 5€ | - | 0 | 0 | Slovakia, Czech Republic | min. 400€ monthly deposit, or under 27 years old |
Diners Club Pure | Diners Club International/ Discover | Credit | 2€ + 2,5% | - | 0 | 0 | Slovakia, Czech Republic |
Rules for inclusion:
I’ve focused on pan-european and multi-country offers first (list is growing every year). There is a decent option for every EEA resident available here.
Offers limited to residents of a single country (scroll down to see table) must offer at least as good terms as Bitwala or BNC10. That means a prepaid/debit card with 0 conversion fees and at least a few free withdrawals a month.
Credit cards are still mostly local only. They should at least offer 0 or very low conversion fees.
Eligibility usually concerns residence, not citizenship.
Recommendations:
Unless there’s an even better option for your country on the list above or below, get Bitwala or BNC10, depending on which you are eligible for and which suits you better. Both are free and you cannot go wrong with that. Ferratum has halted acceptance of new customers as of 2020.
If the included travel insurance justifies the price for you N26 You is great as well.
Credit cards: If there isn’t one listed for your country or you don’t qualify for one, get the new Bunq Travel Card instead. It gets accepted by merchants as a credit card (has the label and code) but has no line of credit. To use it, you simply top it up like a prepaid card. But remember, you only truly need to use a credit card when renting a car or similar (depending on country), for most other purposes a debit card is just fine.
Watch out: There are some banks that hide their currency conversion fee behind the fact that they use their own exchange rates instead of those from Visa or Mastercard. This way they can claim there are “zero” conversion fees, but then use exchange rates that are worse than the card companies’ and pocket the difference. The fine print should reveal this, but it’s a pain.
For some European countries not using the Euro there’s an additional wrinkle: There can be double conversions. You spend in say Indian Rupees, Mastercard converts to Euro and your bank then converts from € to your local currency with their own exchange rate. That’s how they can still have their cut. Seems to happen more with Mastercard than Visa. Here’s a good explainer how it works with Polish banks. Again, the fine print should reveal this.
Now, Revolut, Curve and Transferwise do not use Visa or Mastercard rates either, but at least they are transparent in that they use the mid-market rate. But still, with Revolut and Curve you’re up to 2% worse off on weekends, and with Transferwise in any case. 99% of the time you’re better off with the card companies’ rates and you won’t have to compare rates and what not.
Account | Network | Type | Foreign ATM fees outside SEPA | International ATM surcharge rebates | Foreign currency transaction fees | annual/ monthly fees | Eligible countries | notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bank Creditas | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Czech Republic | use their own exchange rate for transactions in Euro, Mastercard's for everything else |
Raiffeisen Bank Easy | Mastercard | Credit | 3,5%, min. 89 CZK | - | 0,2% | 0 | Czech Republic | |
Coop Pank Rändrahn | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 4,99€ monthly | Estonia | Withdrawals only free if min. 200€ in card transactions in Estonia the 2 months before. |
Max (Credit Mutuel Arkea) | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | France | |
Ma French Bank | Visa | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 2€ monthly | France | |
Chaabi Bank Pack Chaabi Essentiel | Visa | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 3€ monthly | France | A card with higher limits is also available,but you will need to deposit your salary |
Fortuneo Banque Fosfo | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 3€ monthly | France | monthly fee can be waived with 1 card transaction |
Creatis Offre Creatis Essentielle | Visa | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 3€ monthly | France | they only have two branches: in Lille and Lens. Might be possible to open by telephone as well. |
Hello Prime | Visa | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 5€ monthly | France | 1000€ minimum monthly income required |
Monabanq Uniq | Visa | Debit | 25 per year free, then 1,5% | - | 50 per year free, then 1,5% | 6€ monthly | France | |
Boursorama Banque Ultim | Visa | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 15€ monthly | France | monthly fee can be waived with 1 card transaction |
Barclays | Visa | Credit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Germany | |
Payback Visa Flex+ | Visa | Credit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Germany | |
BW Bank Giro Worldwide | Visa | Credit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Germany | customers under 25 only |
Santander 123 Giro | Visa | Credit | 0 | unlimited | 0 | 6,95€ monthly | Germany | monthly fee can be waived with 1200€ monthly deposit |
Consors Bank Visa Gold | Visa | Credit | 0 | - | 0 | 60€ annually | Germany | annual fee can be waived with 10 cent per card transaction up to 60€ |
Barclaycard Eurowings Gold | Visa + Mastercard | Credit | 0 | - | 0 | 69,90€ annually, first year free | Germany | |
Spardabank Hessen Platinum Mastercard | Mastercard | Credit | 0 | - | 0 | 99€ annually | Germany | |
TF Bank | Mastercard | Credit | 1,9% interest per month | - | 0 | 0 | Germany | |
Sparkasse Dolomiti Direkt Conto Dolomiti | Maestro | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Italy | |
Banca di Pisa Conto Corrente Completo | Maestro | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Italy | |
Banca Reale Conto Fun Reale | Maestro | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 - 3,50€ monthly | Italy | low monthly limits abroad |
Flowe Friend | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 10€ monthly | Italy | |
CheBanca! Conto Corrente Digital | Maestro | Debit | 0 | - | 0,29% inside Europe, 0,58% outside Europe | 1€ monthly | Italy | card has CVV2 code and supports online transactions |
Creditis Carta Valea | Visa | Credit | 4% | - | 0 | 0 | Italy | |
Agos Ducato (several cards) | Visa | Credit | 4% | - | 0 | 1,25€ monthly | Italy | |
Santander | Mastercard | Credit | 4% min. €2,58 | - | 0,29% inside Europe, 0,58% outside Europe | 0 | Italy | |
Aegon Bank Knab Plus | Maestro | Debit | 0 | - | 0,5% | 5€ monthly | Netherlands | |
BNP Paribas Karta Otwarta na Swiat | Mastercard | Debit | 0 for Global ATM Alliance, 5 PLN elsewhere | none, but surcharge free at Global ATM Alliance | 0 | 10 PLN monthly | Poland | |
Bank Pekao Karta revolucyna | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 6 PLN monthly + 3 PLN monthly for the card | Poland | you need to be under 26 or have 500 PLN incoming deposit and 1 debit card transaction per month to get all fees waived incl atm fees abroad |
Envelo (Bank Pocztowy) | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 5 PLN monthly + 5 PLN monthly for worldwide free cash option | Poland | first fee can be waived with 1000 PLN incoming, 1 debit card transaction or under 26 years old. |
Getin Bank Karta Kredytowa Standard | Visa | Credit | 3,5% min. 7 PLN | - | 0 | 5 PLN monthly | Poland | monthly fee can be waived with 5 transactions per month |
Bank Pocztowy | Visa | Credit | 3% min. 5 PLN | - | 0 | 4 PLN monthly | Poland | |
Telekom Banking (Alior Bank) | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Romania | own exchange rates |
ING Card complet | Visa | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Romania | need monthly deposit of 700lei. Keep an eye out for this, Romanian banks seem to be intransparent with their exchange practices. |
Orange Money | Visa | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Romania | |
Idea Bank Foto Card del Salariu | Mastercard | Debit | 15 per month free, then 0,75% + 5 RON | - | 0 | 2 RON monthly | Romania | min. 1500lei monthly deposit or 700Lei in card transactions. Keep an eye out for this, Romanian banks seem to be intransparent with their exchange practices. |
Fio Banka Current Account | Mastercard | Debit | 1 per month free, then 1,20€ | - | 0 | 0 | Slovakia | |
Pibank Cuenta Nomina | Visa | Debit | 0 | unlimited | 0 | 0 | Spain | min. 1100€ deposit per month required, or ATM withdrawals cost 2€. |
Verse | Visa | Prepaid | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Spain | |
Abanca Cuenta Clara Joven | Mastercard | Debit | 5 per month free, then 1€ | - | 0 | 0 | Spain | only for customers between ages 16 and 34 |
Rebellion Pay | Mastercard | Prepaid | 4x or 500€ per month free, then 2€ | - | 0 | 0 | Spain | |
Arquia Banca Cuenta Q | Visa | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 80€ annually | Spain | |
Banca Mediolanum Cuenta Cero | Visa | Debit | 0 | - | 1% (waived for ATM withdrawals) | 9€ annually, first year free | Spain | |
Bnext | Visa | Prepaid | 3 withdrawals and max. 500€ per month free | - | 2000€ per month free | 0 | Spain | |
Eroski Club (Santander Consumer) | Mastercard | Credit | 4% min. 4€ | - | 0 | 0 | Spain | |
WiZink Oro/Cepsa | Visa | Credit | 4,5%, min. 4€ | - | 0 | 0 | Spain | |
PFC | Mastercard | Prepaid | 3000SEK per month free, then 1,5% | - | 0 | 0 | Sweden | |
Forexbank | Visa | Credit | 0 | - | 0 | 225 SEK annually | Sweden | |
Collector Easy Living | Mastercard | Credit | 3% min. 45 SEK | - | 0 | 195 SEK annually | Sweden | |
Santander Mitt Kort+ | Mastercard | Credit | 3% min 35 SEK + 1,36% Interest per month | - | 0 | 195 SEK annually, first year free | Sweden | |
Bank Cler Zak Plus | Maestro | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 8CHF monthly | Switzerland | |
Postfinance Privatkonto Plus | Plus | ATM | 0 | - | 0 | 12CHF monthly | Switzerland | monthly fee can be waived with CHF 25000 in investments, life insurance or mortgage from PostFinance. |
Credit Agricole Nextbank Pack EssenCiel | Maestro | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 15CHF monthly | Switzerland | monthly fee can be waived with CHF 20000 average balance |
Banque Cantonale de Fribourg Bildungskonto | Maestro or Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Switzerland | students ages 18-29 only |
Hypothekarbank Lenzburg Ausbildungskonto | Vpay | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | Switzerland | students under 30 only. Vpay card may not work in all countries outside Europe. |