EMI without foreign transaction fees?

[Emilio]

I travel a lot and I spend money in different currencies, my US bank charges 3% for foreign transaction fees and I want to save this amount.

Is there an EMI with a debit card , without Foreign Transaction fees?

 

[Sols]

Wise and Revolut were set up specifically for this. You can also get a credit‌ card from Swissquote which has no FX fees on a lot of currencies although not‍ quite as many as Wise and Revolut, IIRC.

 

[Elve]

There is also zen.com that I like a lot, no commission until the weekends unlike‌ revolut that does charge extra commissions on weekends

 

[Forester]

Do you have some experience with them? I must admit, I am not a big fan‌ of Lithuanian EMI's but this one seems to be worth some deeper investigation...
You probably wanted to say they do not charge an extra commission during⁠ the weekends (it corresponds to the pricelist published at their webpage), i.e. “no commission not even on the weekends unlike revolut that does charge extra commissions on weekends”, right?
(Your expression is unclear a little bit...)

 

[Elve]

Yes I have been using zen.com for⁢ over a year without any problem. But I specify that I do not use them︀ for large amounts, between 4 and 6k on average per month recharged mainly with my︁ Crypto visa card.

The account is echargeable in addition to personal iban: by card, google︂ pay, Bitcoin, USDT, Ideal, sofort, Neteller, Skrill and other options. I have never recharged directly︃ by crypto.

Yes I meant that there is no commission on weekends with Zen and︄ yes with revolut, sorry my English is not perfect 🙂

The Zen team is Polish I︅ believe but with LT license as Revolut. As in any EMI, there are testimonials of︆ closed accounts, but as far as I'm concerned so far no problem.

 

[Forester]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Neither mine 🙂
Absolutely no problem...
I know that the founder and the key person is a polish guy.
Yes. BTW, what bank are⁢ they using for a custody? I.e., to what bank belongs the dedicated IBAN that you︀ obtain?
This is not surprising. Generally, it is true that a remarkable number people use︂ the account inappropriately, so it must occur.
Good to hear. BTW, do you have a︄ personal or a business account?

 

[Elve]

If I am not mistaken all‍ the funds of the EMIs LT are custodied by the central bank of LT.

However, the Zen.com bic (BZENLT22) belongs to the UAB ZEN.COM institution with LT IBAN.

Each account⁠ in all currencies (including EUR) also has a GB IBAN, provided by The currency cloud⁤ and available for Swift transfers.

I'have only a personal account.

 

[Forester]

Well, I read something like‍ this in the past, but no background info (central banks usually work just as issue⁠ houses, emitting the money and performing the surveillance, they take deposits only exceptionally, mainly for⁤ state bodies, and for licensed banks they maintain their clearing accounts... AFAIK)
Together with the abovementioned, really interesting. (Until now, I was quite confident that only⁢ banks – or another comparably licensed financial institutions, as credit unions, mutual savings banks etc.︀ – can possess an IBAN...)
Does anyone (@Gediminas ? 🙂 ) know, how the LT︁ EMI's system works in the background?
Yes, The Currency Cloud Ltd. is well-known.
BTW, I have just found︄ that they even publish these facts on their webpages – https://ask.zen.com/hc/en-us/articles/4886758660892-What-currencies-are-available-in-ZEN- – really exceptional, I︅ appreciate a lot.
I understand.︆ Anyway, thanks a lot for the detailed info.

 

[Emilio]

Thank you for your help and recommendations
I will try your recommendations:
-Wise . (I didnt know⁤ Wise had cards too).
-Swissquote.
I can't get a Revolut card unfortunately for beign southamerican.⁣

It's good︃ to know you're happy with their service. I just did some research on this one︄ and I'm reading some horrible reviews/experiences with zen.com, I'm considering giving it a shot while︅ I find a more permanent solution with a service with better reputation

 

[Forester]

Just my personal opinion:

1) If you are satisfied⁣ with the currencies that Swissquote offers and they can onboard you, do not hesitate and⁢ go with them. They possess a Swiss banking licence, it is kilometers ahead of any︀ British or even Lithuanian EMI (as the reputation is concerned).

2) You can read a︁ lot of (true) horrible reviews/experiences with Wise as well. But it all depends of your︂ use-case. If you regularly send to Wise a part of your salary and then use︃ their card while travelling, you will perhaps be happy with them. If you use it︄ as a business (or even personal) account in various irregular contexts, you must be ready︅ for a situation that your account is closed without any warning or notice, without any︆ reasonable explanation and the cash will be freezed for undefined time – because their AI︇ evaluated your activity as suspicious (evt. search here at forums). (Important note: AFAIK, nobody lost︈ the money, finally they return it to the owner – but of course even freezing︉ your cash for some months can ruin your issues perfectly.)

 

[Emilio]

Thank you! I'll give Swissquote a︆ try, seems like a great option.