Our Pick Of The Best Debit Cards To Use Abroad (2024)

We carried our research (May 2024) into current accounts with debit cards that have low or no fees for use abroad to identify our pick of the best deals. All accounts we’ve listed are free to operate with no monthly or annual fees.

However, some must be managed exclusively online or via a smartphone app. Find more detail in the ‘Why we picked it’ section of each provider, and at our full methodology, below.

We reviewed bank accounts with no monthly or annual operating fees from across the market, where the provider’s debit card has low or no charges for overseas spending and cash machine withdrawals.

We considered whether there are restrictions applied on card use abroad, such as a cap on cash machine withdrawals.

In addition, we looked at the broader features of the accounts, such as overdrafts, in-credit interest, cashback on spending, and also how easy it would be to open an account (including whether a full credit check is carried out and if there is a minimum funding requirement on the account).

We also reviewed customer experience scores for each provider before overlaying our editorial judgment to arrive at our Forbes Advisor ratings.

Debit bank cards, whether they are Mastercard or Visa cards, can be used anywhere in the world where these payment methods are accepted.

But unless you have a debit card from a provider that doesn’t levy overseas usage fees (sometimes referred to as foreign exchange or foreign loading fees) then you’ll be hit with charges each time you make a transaction abroad – either making a card payment for goods or services, or withdrawing cash from an ATM.

In many cases you won’t have to switch your current account – and there are no rules about how many current accounts you can hold.

However, it will come down to the terms and conditions of the account and whether or not it has a minimum funding requirement.

Some accounts apply terms and conditions, which may require you to pay a minimum cash sum into the account and move across direct debits, for example. In this case you will have to switch your current account to qualify.

A good debit card to use overseas is one with no foreign usage (or foreign exchange) fees on spending abroad. But it’s important to note that, even if your card issuer doesn’t apply foreign usage fees, there could be fees levied by the overseas ATM provider which is outside the bank’s control.

If you’re planning to actually switch your current account, it’s worth looking for additional benefits too outside overseas use.

Some accounts might pay cashback on spending, for example. Or if you’re switching your current account you might want to look for a new account with high in-credit interest rates or a competitive overdraft rate.

There are a number of options when it comes to spending and withdrawing money abroad.

• Travel credit card: There are a handful of credit card providers that offer cards with no foreign usage fees, either for spending or withdrawing cash. Read the small print though as some still impose charges for ATM withdrawals abroad and/ or charge interest from day one on cash withdrawals (rather than after the usual 56 days).
• Prepaid currency cards: prepaid travel cards work differently to credit or debit cards in that once you’ve opened the account you can preload money (often in a range of currencies) onto the card in advance ready for spending and cash withdrawals abroad. Check the fees and charges for transactions using the card and the ATM withdrawal limits as these will vary between card providers.
• Currency in cash: Many travellers and holidaymakers still like to take some currency as cash on holiday for convenience and budgeting. You can usually compare rates and find competitive deals with online currency providers – and have the money delivered to your home in time for your trip. Try to avoid exchanging currency at the airport as this will usually be more expensive due to less competitive exchange rates.

If you have both debit and credit cards which don’t charge foreign usage fees then it doesn’t really matter which one you use. The decision in this case will come down to how you want to budget your holiday spending.

If you want the money to come straight out of your bank account for example, then you would use your debit card. In contrast, you might want to use a credit card as a way of spreading the cost of your holiday spending, as you can pay it off over a longer period.

That said, if you don’t pay off your credit card balance in full at the end of the month you could incur high interest charges on your spending. This could more than wipe out any savings made by having a specialist travel credit card.

Familiarise yourself with the full charges information for your cards before you leave. And bear in mind that some debit and credit cards that offer fee-free spending overseas might still charge a fee for cash withdrawals abroad.