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01 Oct 2024

Best debit cards to use abroad 2024

We reveal the best banks for fee-free spending on your holiday and the expensive mistakes to avoid.

Chiara CavaglieriSenior researcher & writer

In this article

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.

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Best banks for spending abroad

Here are the only accounts that are truly fee-free to use abroad, ranked by provider customer score:

Provider	Account name	Which? Customer Score	Fees to use debit card abroad
Starling (WRP)	Current Account	83%	None
First Direct (WRP)	1st Account	82%	None
Monzo	Current Account	82%	3% for withdrawals over £200/month in non-EEA (£400 in UK and EEA)
Chase	Current Account	79%	None
Lloyds	Silver and Platinum	72%	None
Virgin Money	M Plus	68%	None
Cumberland Building Society	Cumberland Plus	n/a	None

Table note: Fees correct as of October 2024. Monzo fees for UK and European Economic Area (EEA) cash withdrawals over £400 a month waived if you hold it as your main account. 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

More on using your card abroad

No. If you're withdrawing foreign cash or paying for items in shops and restaurants, it's almost always best to pay in the local currency – not in pound sterling – when prompted.

Choosing to convert to sterling will mean that the merchant or ATM sets the conversion rate instead of your bank, known as dynamic currency conversion (DCC).

This typically means that you'll get an unfavourable exchange rate and, in some cases, you'll have to pay both your bank and the ATM operator a fee.

Check your receipt carefully as some merchants automatically select sterling when they give you the bill.

Contact your bank or card issuer as quickly as possible to cancel your card.

Most banks let you instantly cancel cards via your mobile banking app to save time and avoid a lengthy and potentially costly phone call.

If this isn't possible, all banks have an emergency telephone line, with an overseas or reverse charges number. Any charges made to the card after you've reported it will be refunded.

Report theft to the police, especially if you plan to make an insurance claim as you will be asked for a crime reference number as part of the claims process.

Your insurer may also ask to see cashpoint or currency exchange receipts too, so keep hold of these.

Some banks offer a free emergency cash service if you've lost your card while abroad (including Barclays, Lloyds and Santander). Or, you can ask a friend to send you money using a service like Western Union and MoneyGram.

The best prepaid cards are useful if you want to limit the amount of cash you take on holiday or stick to a budget, but Which? members have reported occasional technical glitches using them abroad, so it's advisable to bring another card as backup.

Prepaid cards offer no protection against losses under Section 75 (this covers credit card transactions only), but you can still ask for payments to be reversed under the Visa and Mastercard chargeback schemes.

If a prepaid card provider goes bankrupt, your money isn't covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme although regulated firms must hold funds in ring-fenced accounts to protect customers.