Account | Network | Type | Foreign ATM fees outside SEPA | International ATM surcharge fee rebates | Foreign currency transaction fees | annual/ monthly fees | Eligible countries | notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nuri | Visa | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | All EEA countries | German bank |
N26 You | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 9,90€ monthly | Most EEA countries | German bank |
Tomorrow Change | Visa + Vpay | Debit | 5 per month free, then 2€ | - | 0 | 7€ monthly | all Eurozone countries | German Bank |
Sync Money | Mastercard | Prepaid | 2 per month free, then 2% | - | 0 | 0 | most EEA countries | Lithuania e-money |
Monese Classic | Mastercard | Prepaid | 900€ per month free, then 2% | - | 0 | 5,95€ monthly | All EEA countries | Belgian based. No SEPA direct debits yet (planned 2019) |
Wirex | Mastercard | Prepaid | 400€ per month free, then 2% | - | 0 | 0 | All EEA countries | Lithuanian e-money. own exchange rates. |
Zen | Mastercard | Prepaid | 300€ per month free, then 1,5% | - | 0 | 0,99€ monthly | All EU countries | Lithuanian e-money |
Aion Bank Light Membership | Mastercard or Maestro | Debit | 300€ per month free, then 2% | - | 0 | 3,90€ 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 | Spain based. own exchange rates. annual ATM withdrawal limit is 5000€. top-up by card only. |
Conotoxia | Visa | Prepaid | 200€ per month free, then 2% | - | 0 | 0 | All EEA countries | Polish account. Own exchange rate for 20 currencies, Visa rates for the rest. |
Crypto.com Midnight Blue | Visa | Prepaid | 200€ per month free, then 2% | 2000€ per month free, then 0,5% | 0 | All EEA countries | Lithuanian e-money. own exchange rates. inactivity fee of 5€ after 12 months. card cancellation costs 50€, see terms. | |
Revolut | Mastercard or Visa | Debit | 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 | Lithuania 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 |
Bunq easyMoney | Mastercard or Maestro | Debit | 4 per month free, then 0,99€ | - | 0,5% | 8,99€ monthly | Most EEA countries | Dutch bank |
Verse | Mastercard | Prepaid | 2 per month free | - | 0 | 0 | many EEA countries | |
Wise Borderless Account | Mastercard or Visa | Debit | 2x and 200€ max. per 30 days free, then 0,50€ + 1,75% | - | 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. |
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. |
DiPocket | Mastercard | Prepaid | 1€ | - | 1% | 0 | All EEA countries | lithuanian e-money, accounts based in Poland. no load fee Cards available in: GBP,EUR,PLN, USD |
Sweep Bank | Mastercard | Debit | 4 per month free, then 2% + 1€ | - | 0 | 0 | Latvia, Finland, Germany | Maltese bank |
DKB-Cash | Visa | Debit | 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, Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain | Luxembourgish Bank. German customers would be wise to pick this cobranded card, because 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, Austria | |
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 | Spanish bank |
Klarna | Visa | Credit | not possible | - | 0 | 0 | Sweden, Germany | Swedish bank |
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 Start | Mastercard | Debit | free for withdrawals of 80€ or more | - | 0 | 0 | Slovakia, Czech Republic | |
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 Nuri or Ferratum. 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 Nuri. It’s 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, don’t worry, 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 Wise for example 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 Wise in any case. 99% of the time you’re better off sticking to 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 | - | 0,49% | 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 | 8x per month | - | 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 Best Card Premium | Visa | Credit | 0 | - | 0 | 75€ annually | Germany | |
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 | |
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 |
Findomestic Conto Prime | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 6,90€ monthly | Italy | |
Flowe Friend | Mastercard | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 10€ monthly | Italy | |
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€. |
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 | |
Yapeal Private + | Visa | Debit | 0 | - | 0 | 8,90CHF 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. |