Money and Banking Abroad

Gone are the days when you had to go see your bank manager to ask for a prepaid card just to avoid exchange fees before a trip. Well, not entirely gone, actually. I still remember back in 2018 when I left for California for my internship abroad, and my parents took me to see the bank manager to request that card. I still have 15 euros sitting on it at some random bank, I really should close that account one of these days, but anyway, I’m getting sidetracked.

Here’s the thing though: it’s now incredibly easy to travel anywhere in the world without worrying about exchange rates, where to withdraw cash, or whether you need to bring cash to exchange on the spot.

With online banks like Wise or Revolut, everything’s been simplified. You can even receive your foreign salary directly into your account (tax returns too).

So let me break it all down for you, whether you’re reading this because you’re about to travel somewhere with a different currency, or because you’re heading abroad for work.

Attractive exchange rates

Honestly, this is the part that sold me from day one. Wise uses the mid market rate, the actual real rate you’d see if you googled it, with zero markup added on top. No sneaky percentage hidden inside the conversion like traditional banks love to do. Revolut works on the same principle for its basic exchanges, but here’s the catch, it only applies the real rate up to a certain amount each month (currently around 1,000 EUR or GBP depending on your plan), and weekends come with a sneaky little markup added on top. So if you’re the type who travels mid week and keeps things simple, you genuinely won’t feel the difference. But if you’re sending bigger amounts or doing it on a Saturday night because that’s when you remembered, Wise tends to stay more predictable and Revolut can quietly cost you more. I’ve had both apps open side by side more times than I’d like to admit just to double check which one was actually behaving that day.

Withdrawing cash with low fees

In some countries, especially across South Asia, cash is still very much king, sometimes outright essential. So instead of showing up with your euros or dollars and hunting down a currency exchange shop that’ll hit you with a terrible rate and a massive spread, go through Wise instead. Convert your money by opening an account in the local currency, then withdraw from an ATM. You’ll likely pay a small ATM fee, but up to a certain amount per month, Wise and Revolut don’t charge you anything on their end. It varies by country and currency, so it’s worth checking the details for where you’re headed, but as a reference, Wise currently allows free withdrawals up to 250 EUR per month in most European countries, with a 2.69% fee on anything above that.

As for the ATM’s own fee (separate from Wise’s), that depends entirely on the machine and the bank behind it, and the difference can sometimes be huge. It’s worth testing out a few different ATMs when you arrive since they’re rarely far apart, just to find the one charging you the least.

Sending money between Wise accounts, free of charge

Every traveler I know has Wise, honestly all my friends do, which makes it incredibly easy to pay each other back instantly with zero fees. The second you’re both on the platform, sending money to each other is basically instant and completely free, no matter the currency you’re each holding. Revolut offers the same kind of instant free transfer between Revolut users too, so really it comes down to which app your friend group has already adopted. In my case it’s been Wise from the start, so splitting an Airbnb or paying someone back for dinner takes about ten seconds and exactly zero fees. Honestly, this single feature alone has saved more friendships than any travel app deserves credit for.

Receiving money with no fees

Getting your salary with no fees, your tax refunds too. Both Wise and Revolut let you receive money in foreign currencies without getting hit with the receiving fees that traditional banks love to sneak in. With Wise specifically, you get local account details in the currency you need, a USD account number, an EUR IBAN, a GBP sort code, so whoever’s paying you (an employer, a tax office, anyone really) just sees it as a normal local transfer on their end. Revolut offers something similar, though depending on your plan and the currency involved you may bump into limits that don’t exist on Wise. I’ll admit I’ve mostly stuck to using Wise for this specific use case since it’s the one I trust blindly at this point, but if you’re already living inside the Revolut ecosystem for everything else, it’ll get the job done just as well.

Opening a Wise account

I have a real soft spot for Wise, even though I have both. I’ve had this account for six years now and I’ve never had a single problem, customer service is genuinely excellent even when something does go wrong, and there are several options for putting your money to work, like interest or stocks, in whichever currency you choose. That means you don’t have to convert into another currency every five minutes, which is rather nice, especially given the current exchange rate for NZD against the euro, I’m not in a rush to convert that one anytime soon.

If you don’t have an online bank account yet and you’re traveling soon, you can open one here. Through this link you’ll get your debit card for free, or you can send up to 500 euros fee free on your first transfer.

A quick note on Working Holiday visas

In my early years as a traveling winemaker, I used to open a local bank account in whichever country I was working in. Looking back, what a massive waste of time. Here’s the thing: when you head to the US for work, you typically go through a sponsoring organization that helps you secure your visa (and charges you an arm and a leg for it). The guy handling mine told me my Wise account wouldn’t work for receiving my salary or tax returns, so I had to go through the whole process of opening a US bank account (and trust me, in the US that is not a simple process). All that effort, only to realize I was getting charged for every transfer to pay my rent, charged for withdrawals even at the bank’s own counters, charged for writing a check, basically all downside and zero upside. I go into a lot more detail about sponsors, costs and the whole visa process in my J1 visa guide, if that’s the route you’re taking.

After a month, I decided to switch my bank account for receiving my salary. Spoiler alert: it worked, and I was finally able to close my Chase account for good (after wading through yet another mountain of paperwork to sign). With Wise, I could receive my salary directly with no fees, transfer rent to my landlord for 1.13 USD, pay my roommate back for bar nights for free since he was on Wise too, and receive my tax returns without a hitch.

All this to say: don’t waste your time opening bank accounts abroad. Your online bank is already excellent.

The one place I still keep a local bank account is New Zealand, because their banking system is a bit particular. If you don’t have an EFTPOS card (the kind you swipe through a slot), you’ll get hit with fees of a few percent practically everywhere. They’re surprisingly resistant to paywave, it’s honestly impressive. Since I spend several months a year here, it’s worth keeping that account open to avoid racking up all those little fees that, over six months, can easily add up to a few flat whites worth of cash.